The Arcshadow
by The Writer of Darkness
Summary: Due Arclight is not a normal teenage girl. Upon her shoulders she carries the weight of her family and her Crest. Not to mention the huge legacy (and the villainous ex-fiancé.) But what shall become of her when her father assigns her on a mission that could get her wrapped up in much more than revenge? This is an AUish fic where some theories are cannon. KitexOC, Accidentshipping
1. Chapter 1: A Dark Introduction

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. The only thing I own is my OC.

This is a AUish fic where some of my theories are canon.

Chapter One: A Dark Intoduction

 **No POV**

"Ahahahah! Hahahaha!" A young boy sat upon a silver throne, laughing uncontrollably. He wore a silver mask that appeared to cover his face, one eye, and half his mouth. Pale braided blonde hair bounced on his shoulder. His one visible eye was a cold, unforgiving yellow. His clothes were a minty blue shade with ruffles on each shoulder. He also wore white pants, a gold belt, and plain brown shoes. White gloves clapped in twisted glee. It was obvious that this was no normal child.

"Vetrix, shall I report?" asked a teenage girl. She had wavy medium-length lavender hair that curled at the top and deep aquamarine eyes. She was dressed in a magenta 1700s-inspired wear with pale magenta ruffles on the sleeves and her torso, black fingerless gloves, black boots with white trim, and white pants with ruffles on the tips. Gold trim lined the coat at the tips and pointed like straps on her shoulders with an embroidered dot on each.

"Certainly, please do, Due," said Vetrix. His voice was rather high-pitched and yet malicious at the same time.

"I have discovered the ages of Faker's sons. The elder is eighteen, and the younger is nine. I have also learned they live in the Heartland City Capital Building."

"Good, good. Anything else?"

"That is all."

"Alright then. I want you to investigate them. Befriend them. Gain their trust. Reveal their secrets. Report it all to me." He smiled.

"Vetrix, are you sure this is a good idea? Quinton and I have always done the bulk of the missions. Will Trey and Quattro be able to take on my responsibilities?"

"Of course I'm sure. It's a fail-safe plan. Besides, you'll still go on missions. Don't think this one is going to give you time off. I want my revenge as soon as possible. You're dismissed." He waved a hand as though it was no big deal for the girl to spy on an innocent person, condemned for the sins of his father.

Due nodded and curtsied, her trademark farewell. Haunting never-ending hysterical laughter much like a hyena's cry rang through the room once more.

 **Kite POV**

Hart. My little brother. I'll do anything for him. And Heartland said the only way to help him is to collect all one hundred of these cards called "Numbers." They hold the power to fix his mental and physical illness. Maybe then we can be happy again, like we were six years ago. Back when it was just me, Hart, and Orbital 7.

Before they came and ruined everything. Now Hart's dying and I might share his fate if I become a number hunter. The strain on me could potentially destroy me physically and mentally. But that doesn't matter. I'll gladly exhaust my soul for my brother. I'll move the sky for him.

A blue, cream, yellow, and pink platform filled the hole in the floor. It carried a tall blue-green haired figure. His orange glasses with the strange pink V-shaped bridge glowed an icy blue. He carelessly waved around his teal-coated arms as he talked.

"Kite, look at your poor, sick brother. Don't you want to help him?" Heartland remarked manipulatively.

I said nothing and stared at the glowing city through the large blue-tinted windows. A star dashed through the endless navy sky.

"He's not going to heal unless you collect the numbers for me."

"I know. I've made my decision. I'll do it."

"Excellent! Hart will thank you."

Hart twisted and groaned is his sleep. Then, his bloodshot eyes opened. But instead of the normal gold shade, electric blue shined like the star I had watched die minutes ago. Red lightning surged around his body. He started screaming. I hated when he did this. I felt so helpless. Luckily, the screaming died out eventually. The electricity faded slowly and he stilled.

Granted, this wasn't the first time this had happened. However, it was the first time Mr. Heartland experienced Hart's power surges. And each time I saw him go through this, I wished to take his pain. That way, he would no longer have to live a slave to pain and depression.

"When can I start number hunting?"


	2. Chapter 2: A Shadowy Collision

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. The only thing I own is my OC.

This is a AUish fic where some of my theories are canon.

Chapter Two: A Shadowy Collision

 **Due POV**

Due walked through Heartland City like any normal resident would. No one gave her second glance. Speeding past the illuminated buildings, she only had one place in mind: the Heartland Tower. Where she would meet the sons of her father's sworn enemy. She wondered what they were like. What if they were just like her and wanted to be a family again?

A huge blue gate greeted her. How was she to pass it? Hmm. Well, there was an surveillance camera by the tightly shut door. If she could fake an ID or something of significance to let he enter, maybe she could get in. Using the power of her Barian Crest, she took a strand of wavy lavender hair and transformed it into an entry pass.

The Crest had been gifted to her not long before Quattro gained his, as she was his elder twin sister. Thus, their Crests were the same color. However, unlike his fiery lightning, her Crest was a loopy heart with three wavy lines cutting through it, two on the left angling down, and one on the right angling up. She thought of it as a design that represented her family. The three lines were her brothers as the strong winds they were, the heart was her as the calm, sweet one, and the frame was her father who protected them all.

Due snapped out of her daze. She had to get inside. She quietly cleared her throat and stood by the door. Holding up the card, she used the trick she used every time something like this happened.

"Hi, I've got an entry pass. May I come in please?"

"Access granted." replied the computer.

Smiling, she entered the winding entrance corridor. She glanced at her surroundings. She was in a dark blue room with a pink spiraling ramp that seemed to lead to the top of the building. She ran up it as quickly as possible. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she exited the hallway. She could tell she was in one of the top floors, because she could see the whole city from her point.

"Who are you?" asked a blue haired boy in a black sleeveless high-collared shirt and black shorts in a pained voice. On his head he had six pink beads, three circular, and three cylinder-shaped.

"I'm Due! I'm your…uh…I'm a person who was hired to…uh…play with you and entertain you!"

"Big brother should be here soon. His name's Kite."

"Hmm…Okay. Kite. And you are?"

"They call me Hart."

"Okay, Hart. What shall we do?"

"I think I liked to play hide and seek once."

 **Kite POV**

A visitor? We haven't had one of those in such a long time. I believe Hart and I were the last new set of people to arrive in the center of Heartland. So who could possibly be coming here?

"Orbital, do a background scan on this girl," I ordered my robot.

"She's a r-r-really good duelist. It seems l-l-like she's n-n-never lost a single d-d-duel, Master K-k-kite! Her n-n-name is Isla A-A-Arclight. She's a minor n-n-number hunter too."

"It seems like number hunting's more popular than I thought."

"Y-y-yes Master K-k-kite."

"She shares a name with the duel tutor I had five years ago."

We reached the end of the moving carpet. The door to Hart's room looked down on us unfavorably.

The automatic metal gave way to a window-filled room and an empty bed with six colorful pillows. Wait. Hart should be in bed right now. Where is he? Panic raced through my mind.

"HART! Where are you?"

Frantically searching for my brother, I jerked my head back and forth. "HART!"

"Haaa–aart? Where aaaare youuu?" playfully asked a voice I had never heard before.

What? Where had that voice come from? What did she do to Hart?

"You must be Kite Tenjo. Charmed."

I snapped my head back. Some girl that looked about my age in old-fashioned clothing blinked at me. Full of rage, I picked her up by the collar of her shirt and held her against the wall.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BROTHER?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear! We were playing hide and seek! For…six hours. He doesn't seem to tire from it…like…ever. I'm his entertainer! Mr. Heartland thought that if you were gone number hunting all day, Hart would need a playmate!"

I let go of her shirt and she dropped onto the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut. She grunted. Quickly, she jumped up and brushed herself off.

"Those aren't good manners. You shouldn't yell someone when you meet them!"

My face darkened. "My brother is more important than anything to me. I die a little inside every time I see him in pain."

Isla smiled kindly. "I forgive you. I kinda know how you feel. When I was twelve, my father disappeared. I had two younger brothers to watch over. It didn't help my older brother moved to the capital to help discover what had happened to my father. I still remember what Michael said when the tall man in black took us away. And I'll never forget the look in Thomas' eyes when he realized what was happening. Thank Don Thousand we went to the same orphanage. I don't know what I'd have done without them. Luckily, we went to the best place in Heartland. We got educated, and we ate well, but it wasn't the same. Now that Christopher's old enough, we live with him. I know what you're going through. And we did find our father, eventually. When we found him, though, he was severely wounded. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Christopher, Michael, Thomas and I all changed our names to Quinton, Trey, Quattro, and Due, in honor of us all becoming number hunters. Oh! I'm Due, by the way. Formerly known as Isla."

"Thanks. I just want the best for Hart. And about five years ago, a man named Christopher was my duel tutor." I said, surprised by her empathy and curious to see if this girl was related to Christopher Arclight.

"Yep, that's my brother. So can I stay as his entertainer? Please? And Hart's safe. He's behind the pillar over there." Due begged and bribed.

"I'll let you…If you duel me." I said, knowing there was no way I could lose with my Galaxy-Eyes.

"Alrighty, pretty boy! But this isn't going to be any normal duel. Because you're going to lose!"

This girl had too big an ego to be Hart's entertainer.

"Let's duel!" we cried in unison.


	3. Chapter 3: A Duel of Two Souls

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N I didn't like how this duel went, so here's a revision. Shoutout to De Hearts 26 for the two reviews. Thanks!**

Chapter Three: A Duel of Two Hearts

 **Due POV**

"Augmented reality vision link established."

Kite half-smiled like a fox cornering its prey. A cyan duel-gazer tattoo formed around his eye and blue-grey became red.

Due's duel gazer was an curly fire-shaped ombré pattern that changed from blue to magenta. Her aquamarine eye faded to a light amber shade.

"Embrace the darkness!" she shouted.

"Your soul will be mine!" Kite said.

"I'm sorry… What? Why would you want my soul?" Due asked, confused.

"Why do you believe I should embrace something that I already live with to save my dying brother?"

"Let's just agree that they're both stupid catchphrases," Due suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

"Can we just get on with it?" Kite asked impatiently.

She nodded.

"I draw! I normal summon Photon Crusher and special summon Photon Thrasher in attack mode!"

 **Photon Crusher And Thrasher ATK: 2000**

Two tall brown robot-like monsters with huge swords with blue glittery parts appeared.

"I tribute summon Photon Crusher and Photon Thrasher in order to special summon. Behold, a beast with power greater than a supernova!"

A triple-edged sword appeared in his hand, and he tossed it into the air with a brilliant flash of white.

"Appear, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! It's your move, Due!"

She drew. "Alright! Get ready for this! I summon Shadow Dragon!"

 **Shadow Dragon ATK: 1050**

A purple dragon with blue eyes and black stripes raised its mighty head.

"I activate its special ability! If Shadow Dragon is the only monster on my field, I can summon a monster that is a Level Six or Seven from my hand! Come to me, Shadow Seamstress of Darkness!"

A silhouetted girl with thin, threadlike hair, long fingers, purple eyes, and a short ruffled skirt, and a giant silver needle posed like a model.

 **Shadow Seamstress ATK: 500**

"Shadow Seamstress' ability activates! Once per turn, I can deal you 200 points of damage per monster on the field! Go Shadow Seamstress! Thread of Fate!" Due smiled.

Three strings shot from her needle and latched onto Galaxy-Eyes, Shadow Seamstress, and Shadow Dragon. Yellow beams came from each and combined, turning on him.

 **Kite LP: 3400**

It was at that moment she knew she would win.

 **Kite POV**

"I end my turn," she said.

"I'll attack right away. I'm taking out Shadow Seamstress!"

A ball of pink electricity formed, and Galaxy-Eyes breathed damage on Due.

 **Due LP: 1000**

"I end my turn," I said.

"Okay! Here I go! I summon Shadow Spellcaster in attack mode!"

 **Shadow Spellcaster ATK: 300**

A cloaked human figure in a deep purple cloak with seven wide black bracelets and a lavender magician's hat and staff stared at me with a piercing blue gaze.

"By her ability, I may raise the levels of all monsters on my field by three! So now, I can overlay Shadow Spellcaster and Shadow Dragon to build the overlay network! Appear before me, Number 22: Angel of Darkness!"

A purple feather slowly drifted to the floor. When it touched the ground, it exploded into flurry of blue-violet feathers and a woman-shaped blue light. They combined together to form a tight slightly low-cut v-neck long sleeved shirt with poofy feathery shoulders around the blue light. A long black ribbon tied around the bottom. Magenta and black ruffles extended from the ribbon. Black twines wrapped around each glowing foot. Wavy black hair flowed from its head. Blue-violet feathered wings grew from her back and spread out as far as they could go. Long lashed eyelids opened to reveal small maroon irises. A magenta 22 glowed on her head like a bioluminescent hair clip.

 **Angel of Darkness ATK: 1000**

I gasped. She had a number. I had to beat her. But it was strange. She didn't seem to be possessed by it. Or was she?

"Angel of Darkness uses an overlay unit to take half of your monster's attack points and deal them to you as damage!"

Electric blue streamed from the monster's fingertips and attached to my chest.

 **Kite LP: 2900**

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Due grinned, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"I draw!"

Wait. This card was just the one I needed!

"I activate Photon Duplication. This doubles the attack of a photon monster on my field.

Due braces herself for the attack. Once through, she would have very few life points left. A pink ball of electricity sped towards her. Strangely, she was still standing.

"I activate my facedown. "If you attacked a Shadow Monster, you take the damage from the attack instead."

 **Kite LP: 900**

"I place two cards facedown and and my turn." I narrowed my eyes.

"My turn! I activate the spell card, Curse of the Lost! If you destroyed my Shadow Monster, I can activate its ability in the graveyard once. Better luck next time, Tenjo-boy!" Due teased.

"Not yet! I activate Photon Negation! This negates your spell as long as I have a Photon monster on my field."

She grinned. "I knew you'd do that. Because you negated my spell, I can special summon Shadow Seamstress. When she's special summoned this way, I can deck search a Shadow card."

She summoned the card she picked. "When I add Shadow Knight to my hand, you take 500 damage.

 **Kite LP: 500**

 **Shadow Knight ATK: 400**

"And too bad for you, because he can attack directly."

The armored figure raised his spear and slashed downward. I watched as all the life points I had left dropped to zero.

 **Kite LP: 0**

As the duel ended, the ARL faded away in a flourish of purple and blue.

"I must say, Kite. You're good. But not good enough for me!" Due laughed and pirouetted.

However, she tripped on an imperfection in the thick carpet. She tried to stop her fall with her Crest, but she knew only Quinton could use telekinesis. She landed hard on her rear end.

"Thanks a lot!" she grouched.

"You have number cards."

"Yeah…About that…"


	4. Chapter 4: A Mission Well Completed

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, Arc-V, or Tom and Jerry, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Four: A Mission Well Completed

 **Due POV**

She twiddled her thumbs trying to come up with an answer. "Well, as I said before, I'm a number hunter, so of course I have numbers!"

 _Perfect explanation, Due. Next you'll be telling him your father wastes the whole day watching Tom and Jerry. And that your twin hospitalized someone, and through a process of being tortured by purple DNA chains, you gained magic powers, and that your dad's a mentally disturbed child!_

"If that's so, why do you collect numbers?" Kite asked, confused.

She twisted her hair with her index finger. "Vetrix says we have to."

"Vetrix? Who is Vetrix? Why does he need numbers?"

"He's my dad. We just all kinda call him by his first name. He doesn't really seem to care. He changed his name when we all began hunting numbers. I guess that's just how it is now.

"As for why he needs numbers, ask Quinton or Quattro. They know. Don't ask me why Trey and I weren't informed. I think it's 'cause because we're nice, unlike some people! Don't worry, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she added as his eyes narrowed.

"Okay. Now where's my brother? I need to deliver this caramel to him." He held out his palm, and she could see a small whitish cube.

"Hart? Oh, he's over there. But don't you think it'd be more fun for him if he could have it outside? Has he ever seen Heartland City at night for real? It's beautiful." she explained.

"If it will make my brother happy, I'll do it." he stated.

"Then go take him," she urged.

"Hart? I found you!" Kite clapped his hands over his brother's eyes.

"Thanks Kite. That brings back something, but I can't remember…" Tears brimmed the bottom of his bloodshot eyes.

"Don't cry, Hart. Here, let me show you something."

He picked up Hart by his waist and set him on his own shoulders, crouching down to get him on. He began to walk, but it was with a bright, bouncy, joyful step. After a bit of time, she understood. He was trying to make him happy.

 _Is my mission done for the day? It sure seems that way. This is the perfect time to go back to Vetrix and report._

"Bye Kite! Hart! I'll see you tomorrow!" she called over her shoulder.

No answer. She nodded and curtsied.

Due exited the capital tower. She loved traveling through Heartland at night. Every light shined upon her brightly with their spectrum of color. Big signs decorated every shop, and considering the current festival going on, the End of The Summer Light Celebration was no exception. She took her left hand and made her Crest glow, adding her own personal shine to the festival.

A young girl with light red ponytailed hair dressed in yellow and green ran up to her. "Cool light! Where'd you get it?"

Due smiled at her using the same lie she used every time she was asked. "I made it with the help of my brothers and father."

"Cool!" she squealed. "Where can I get one?"

An idea came to mind. "Put on your duel-gazer and look at your left hand," she commanded.

As she fumbled for her duel-gazer, she took another stand of hair and changed it into a mostly clear glove with a Crest-like design.

"Here you go!" She slid the glove on her hand.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Thanks!" She ran off to show her parents.

Due laughed, a cheery, high-pitched, jingly sound. All the way until she reached her destination, she laughed. And then she realized how much she sounded like her father.

 **Kite POV**

"What do you think, Hart?" I said to my brother full of happy energy.

"It's nice," was all he said.

"Here. It's caramel. It's a magical candy that will give you strength! Try it." I handed the small cube of sugar to him.

He took a tentative bite and happiness shined through him. "It's sweet!"

A loud helicopter noise interrupted our special moment. Blinding bright lights shined on our faces. A black helicopter with two people piloting and a dark pink heart with the number one on it landed on our peaceful roof. Four men dressed in all black, sunglasses included, grabbed each of our arms. No. They couldn't do this. It wasn't time for Hart to continue destroying Astralworld, could it? They were pushing him way too far!

"Hart!" I struggled against my restraints. Why couldn't we have a few minutes together?

"HART!"


	5. Chapter 5: When Two Souls Bind

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Five: When Two Souls Bind

 **Due POV (first person)**

As I entered the dark room, all I could hear were my own footsteps and maniacal giggling. And then a young boy's voice.

"Hello, Due. What have you learned?" Vetrix greeted.

"In my process, I have learned they have a very close relationship. Kite will do anything for Hart. I told him about some of our backstory to gain his trust. I believe he desires to hunt numbers, as I dueled him and summoned a number and he recognized it."

"Good, good. Quinton, Trey, and Quattro got everything done, so you're done for tonight."

I blinked in surprise. After all, my little brothers were total slackers compared to me. "Um, okay."

"Before you leave, bring Quattro to the Crest Ritual corridor. I need to talk to you together," Vetrix struggled to say right before a fit of laughter.

"Yes, father." I answered as always.

Quattro was in the whitish room that overlooked the entire city. On one wall were pictures of his many fans that he hadn't "spoiled" yet pinned by all the numbers he had ever collected. Plush red carpet sunk in tiny crevasses when stepped on.

"How was your all-day mission with your boyfriend?" he teased, raising a thick dark eyebrow.

"He's not my boyfriend! I just met him, like what, four hours ago? And it went fine, thanks. How was actually working for once? Or did you make Trey do everything?"

He clapped a hand against his chest in mock anger. "I'll have you know I captured three souls today and Trey only got one!"

"And Quinton?" I asked, already guessing the answer.

He sighed. "Six."

"Hah, still haven't beat my record of nine, I see. So anyway, Vetrix needs you and me to go over and talk to him about something. Whatever it is, ask him," I bragged.

"Hmm. It must be that new power he spoke of." Quattro noted distractedly as we moved to the entrance hall.

Emerging from the doorway, I gave my father a funny look. As if he was going to perform a Ritual, he stood in the center with his pink eye Crest illuminating the center.

"What I have called you here for is so I can give you each the power to co-possess a number card. The most powerful one I have. Number 42: Shadow Gimmick Puppet Stringcutter."

"Wait…isn't that the card our mother had?" I questioned, confused.

"Yes. When your mother got lost in Astralworld not long before I met Kazuma Tsukumo and Doctor Faker, her tears weren't the only thing she left behind."

I looked down. Yeah, I clearly remembered the day we went on that "family adventure". Quattro and I were nine, Trey seven, Quinton fourteen. There was a really strange-looking passage off-trail. Adventurers we were, we decided to check it out.

Once we got there, the crystal on Mom's wedding ring exploded into a brilliant light show of color and formed a portal to Astralworld. For some reason, she was the only one it wanted. Dad tried to save her, but he did was burn his hand fiercely until he was forced to let go.

I watched her fall and continue falling for some time. As she did, I saw her violet and maroon hair change into an interesting shade of blue and a curly gold diamond pattern coated her suddenly blue skin in an obviously painful transformation. A tear escaped her eye. As it floated to us, it hardened and crystalized. It split into five pieces. Dad had smashed it in a fit of anger. Now each part is tied by a thin black string hidden under the high collars of our coats.

"I want you to use the card together in duels. It's far too strong for one person to have," he explained. "Now hold up your hand with the Crest on it. Hold each other's fingers tightly together. Say the words, 'I bind my soul together with you to possess number 42, from the depths of my heart and the bottom of my soul, as one this card we shall control.'"

We did as he told and said in unison, "I bind my soul together with you to possess number 42, from the depths of my heart and the bottom of my soul, as one this card we shall control."

Twisted purple chains rose from the corners of Vetrix's floor Crest. Each end shot towards Quattro and I. I closed my eyes as I flashed back to the grueling procedure of gaining my Crest. I opened them a slit to see the chain bonded to my wrist. Then the pain came.

And oh, how it hurt. It was like fire and ice were burning into my skin while getting stabbed in the chest. It was like falling from a high building while getting hit repeatedly. It was like getting electrocuted while drowning. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. A shrill scream escaped my throat. I could hear Quattro crying out as well. And just like that, it was over.

 **Kite POV**

"Ah, Kite. I do hope you are ready to start hunting numbers. I'm so sorry we had to split you from your brother, but I thought it'd be a good idea to tell you tonight so you can start bright and early tomorrow.

"Here's what you must do to get these numbers. Every time you duel, you just have to call out, 'Photon Transformation!' which will give you the power to use a Photon Hand. That lets you take someone's soul! Easy as that," Heartland explained.

"You forgot to mention that if I use Photon Transformation too much I'll exhaust my own soul," I added.

His eyes widened. "Wha…Who told you that?"

I finally had learned something without Heartland's knowing. "Dextra warned me."

"Dextra…Hmm…Well Kite, you'd better rest up. You're hunting early tomorrow."

"Yes Heartland."

Once in my 'bedroom' I began to think about what I was about to do. As I slid my arms out of my black trench coat I questioned my humanity. I was to kill people daily in order to collect number cards. I was to take away the lives of innocent people who had a future ahead of them. But maybe not. After all, they were being controlled by evil. If they couldn't control their own darkness, they didn't deserve to go on causing trouble.

And Due. Who was she, exactly? I understood she owned number cards. She was the sister of the man who taught me how to duel and then disappeared in a random fit of rage and sadness. Her brother was the Asia Champion.

"Master K-k-kite?"

"What, Orbital?"

"I need to sc-sc-scan you to see h-h-how ready you are t-t-to hunt numbers." Orbital stuttered.

"Get it over with quickly, or I'll make you into scrap metal."

"Of c-c-course! Right a-away!"

I closed my eyes as orange wires connected to my bare arms, back, torso, head, and neck.

"You're st-st-stable enough."

"Good. I should be able to hunt for six weeks, yes?"

"Yes, b-b-but just barely."

"That's enough for me."


	6. Chapter 6: Stringcutter

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Six: Stringcutter

 **Due POV**

Due opened her eyes. It was rather hard. During the Ritual she had cried, and her tears had crusted her eyes shut. But Quattro…

"Brother! Are you okay? Wake up, please! Quattro! Answer me! Wake up…please…I can't lose you!" Tears brimmed her eyes.

She kicked him in the stomach. "Wake up, you idiot! Come on!"

"Seriously, Due, I thought we were done with this! I'll be scarred for life if you continue doing this! I already have one scar, I don't need another! But really Due, you—" He was cut off by a coughing fit. "Do you try to make my life more of a hell than it already is?"

"Totally worth it, though," she laughed.

He slowly dragged himself to his feet. He gestured his right hand to the back of his neck and grabbed the string of the necklace of his mother's last gift. The blueish crystal glinted in the remnants of light from the Ritual.

"Did that make you much more sentimental or what?" Due pointed out.

"Are you implying that I'm soft? Won't you be surprised to see my place as World Duel Carnival champion?"

"That's not for another week, and I'm the one who's going to be recognized as champion, idiot. And don't forget I'm the one who's making that Heartpiece with my powers!"

He sighed. "Point taken. But I bet I'll get to the semifinals before you! I'm the better duelist, after all."

"Yeah. In Barianworld," she joked sarcastically.

"I have some fans just itching to be spoiled. Maybe we should test our new power on them," he suggested.

As a duel celebrity, Quattro often would meet one or two of his fans at a time and duel them. He would often test his powers. He didn't have to worry about losing since he believed they had little dueling talent, and he was often right.

"Okay, why not?" Due shrugged. "Or maybe we can test it on…uh…what does he call himself now? Shrimp?"

He frowned. "I think Reginal calls himself Shark, but I'm pretty sure Shrimp matches his personality better. But those squealing fans can't be kept waiting!"

Due walked to the wall of fans. She eyed image of a young duelist. "How about him? He's pretty far away though. But that's not an issue."

They shared a smile; overlay portals were their favorite kind of transportation.

Quattro smirked. He summoned his otherworldly power to bend the gaps of time and space of the one he was currently in, smashing his fist to the floor. By reading his expression, any person would know he couldn't wait for what would happen next.

 **No POV**

Broken glass. Screams cut halfway through their process. Time frozen in place. A young man in a black coat with blonde and blue-green hair flying through the shattered mall skylight.

He landed on his feet and placed one fingerless-gloved hand on the white marble to steady himself. Carelessly he stepped forward, whistling as he went.

The man who was possessed by a number widened his eyes. "Hey! What's happening here? How come nobody's moving?"

He gestured his baseball bat towards the figure who broke the window. "So you're the one who's behind this!"

"Such questions are irrelevant, little punk. What is relevant is what I do. And that's hunt numbers." He placed his hand on his hip.

The number owner grimaced. "So you're some kind of accountant."

"You thick-headed thug! Then why don't I just demonstrate?"

An orange and white robot turned its head. It elongated its neck and focused on a broken litterbot lying on the mall floor. "Th-this guy has no respect for robots! D-demonstrate all over the hot-head!"

His supposed master moved to silently admonish the machine, and it shrunk back in fear. "I mean–if you want, Ma–ster Kite."

" _Oh, I want_ …" he muttered under his breath. "Prepare to duel, you lowlife!"

"Duel? You serious?" The other man laughed.

Kite smiled, a devilish smile designed to instill terror. "Oh yes, I'm always serious when it comes to numbers."

"Ha! Then come and get it!" A pink and violet aura surrounded the gold and black-haired man. Beads of excitement-borne sweat rolled down the side of his tan face. "I've got one right here! And I'm sure you've got some of your own, Kite!" His grey baseball bat clattered to the ground. "To make this interesting, whaddaya say you put one on the line too!"

"That's fine, because I won't be losing!" His irises shrank as he extended both arms out in the floating broken glass.

Kite arched his long back. He held out one arm as though to grab something or reference something. "Now you don't mind if I change, do you?" Moving it back, a white ray washed over him, transforming his coat from black to white. "Go, Photon Transformation!" A blue duel gazer tattoo formed around his red-turned-blue-grey eyes. "There. I'm quite comfortable now. And you're in quite a bit of trouble!"

A black and pink-haired schoolboy struggled to witness the number duel that was going on. However, they dueled at an unusual and impossible speed.

Number 58 was summoned as well as Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Kite was obviously winning the duel.

"NO! This duel can't be over already!" The loser cried, shaking in terror. "Please! Show mercy!"

Kite looked away. "I'm afraid that's a skill I do not possess. GO GALAXY-EYES PHOTON DRAGON! Attack with Photon Stream of Destruction!"

The duel ended. Kite had won.

As the AR vision link faded, the white on Kite's clothes faded as well. "And now, to take my prize."

A glowing blue hand extended from his own. It sank into the man's chest. It clasped its fingers around a round, shimmery sphere. Kite eyed it like a child would a new toy. He closed his fingers around the ball until all that was left was Number 58: Gold Rat. "Success. The number is mine."

The robot moved its "arm" in some kind of salute. "Way-way to go, sir."

Kite gestured for his robot to once again become his glider. He took off. Time returned to its normal speed. Soon, all that could be seen was a black silhouette. And he was gone.


	7. Chapter 7: A Mission of Sorts

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Seven: A Mission of Sorts

 **Due/Floor Ten POV**

My morning mission today is to track down numbers with Quattro. Hmph. Just 'cause we have our twin power doesn't mean we have to use it 24/7!

"Due?" Quattro tapped her shoulder impatiently. "We're on a mission, not Dreamland!"

Due shoved him off. "Sorry, I'll try to stop. I was trying to figure out how to take a number without dueling for long periods of time."

She tapped her fingers on her lips. "What if we started a duel and used our Crests to force them to surrender?"

He gave her a look. "I thought you swore against cheating?"

"Oh yeah," she said as she shook the thought out.

He turned away. Shaking is blonde and maroon head, he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. The Crest began to glow. He nodded left. "This way."

He formed an overlay portal and motioned for her to use it as well. As soon as Due's feet left the red heart she had been standing on, the lights turned off. Red flashes momentarily blinded her. "Uh, Quattro?"

No answer.

"Quattro?"

Still nothing.

"Quattro!"

By the soul of her brothers.

Why did he do this to her? She could teleport back home, but Vetrix had commanded both of them to stay until they discovered an abnormality. Stupid younger brother.

Two floors above, two men plotted. "It appears a girl has arrived. She's broken in and is causing quite the ruckus." the first one said.

"Oh? She seems to possess a strange power. It reminds me of the one Hart has. Maybe she aims to destroy Astralworld too!" the second screeched in delight.

"Now, Master. Don't get too ahead of yourself. What if she wants to destroy Barianworld instead?" the first reasoned.

"I guess I haven't thought that through. However, if she was on our side, she could prove quite useful. Make the litterbots go fetch her." the second ordered dismissively.

"I'll send them right now," the first said as he pressed a red button.

Back on the eighth floor, two hundred robots sped towards the unsuspecting girl. With a small gasp, she moved back into a battle stance. She plucked a strand of hair from her head. Her Crest glowed. Soon she was holding a platinum sword.

"Come at me!" she yelled.

The litterbots obliged.

She swung her weapon in a talented manner, destroying bot after bot. "This is what happens when you mess with Due Arclight! Die, foul collectors of rubbish!"

Her observers were impressed. She was actually destroying them. Time to upgrade the litterbots to their most dangerous state.

The oh-so friendly smiles shifted to a deep frown. Blades extended from where the garbage collecting hands would be.

She continued to fight, smashing litterbot after litterbot with the flat part of the sword.

One spun its bladed arms around and around. It tore her right sleeve and stained the gold hem red.

She bit her lip. The metal clanged while she struggled to block blow after blow.

A knife flew through the air and pinned her to the ground. She struggled against it, and more flooded in to hold her down.

They just kept coming. There was no end. If only she could form a portal! However, without completely focusing on maintaining the vortex, the summon would be unsuccessful. Even if she could pull it off, she didn't want to come home with fifty angry litterbots in tow.

She could use her other power, but that was risky. Overusing it would kill her. But she would die of exhaustion or blood loss if she continued fighting.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. She pulled another strand of hair with her teeth furiously. She was lucky to have such thick locks. But this time, instead of creating something, the litterbot control panel exploded.

"She's destroyed the source somehow! Where's the fire extinguisher?" The men scrambled to find it. By the time they did, she had already summoned an overlay portal.

"Phew, that was a workout! Quattro, don't leave me behind like that again! She whacked the back of his head, mentally wishing she could hug him.

"Thanks to your stalling, I had to search the building myself!"

"Thanks to your ditching, I had to face off a horde of evil litterbots! I had to use the power of Destruction!" she pointed an angry finger at her little brother, waves of hate practically flaming off her.

"I thought if you did that, you would—"

"—lose my soul if I overused it. Yeah. Thanks a bunch!"

And a dimension away, a black Barian smiled. His prize was playing playing into his hands. One strand of sweet lavender hair at a time.

His pink companion cut another string from the tapestry called Life.

 **Kite POV**

A white cherry blossom petal slowly drifted from the sky. It landed in a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Hart opened his golden eyes.

He blinked in confusion. "Where are we?"

I gently put a hand on his shoulder. "We're at our cottage where we lived as kids. Before they did this to you. Remember?"

He looked down. "No. Why can't I remember? Is something wrong with me?"

"No, Hart. You're fine. I know who did forced you into this, and I'm going to fix it," I comforted.

The illusion of our old house vanished like an AR link would at the end of a duel. We had been in Heartland Tower the whole time. And I remembered I had a job to do.

"Wh-where are we going, Master K-k-kite?" Orbital asked.

I focused on the aspect of staying in the air and finding where I was to go. It took me some time to realize it had asked a question.

"We're going to the building where your 'brothers' are stored."

"Mapping route." it replied. I was glad I told it to be quiet today.

I landed at the window and slid my fingers under the pane. I pulled until there was a gap big enough to enter.

Now we just had to get to the main computer. There I could find where this Yuma Tsukumo kept his key. And then I could figure out its purpose.

"We've arrived, Master K-k-kite."

"Link the computer to your system and use it to find someone with the name of Yuma Tsukumo," I commanded.

It did as I told. A blue-tinted screen appeared.

"Yuma Tsukumo," I read. "Age thirteen. Duel count: 52, with 46 losses and six wins. Now, track his key. It looked strange, and I need a closer look at it."

It pressed a few keys and a map with a beeping red dot materialized. The map downloaded onto the robot.

"Are you done? Go find him, or I'll turn you into scrap metal," I threatened.

Orbital 7 latched onto my back once more, and I was tearing through the clouds once again.


	8. Chapter 8: Meet the Arclights

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Eight: Meet the Arclights

 **Due POV**

Heartland's ridiculously large grin overshadowed the screen. The week had gone by so fast. It was carnival time already. And there was no way Due was going to let this chance go by. A big heart-shaped clickbait link pulsed in the corner. She quickly tapped it.

"Hello, sister. I made tea for us. I thought maybe we can sign up together? As a family? Or at least as siblings?" Due's little pinkette brother asked hopefully. He skillfully held his favorite porcelain tea set on a silver tray with no apparent fear of dropping it.

"Sure, Trey. That sounds fun." she replied.

He set put the tea set on the smooth white glass table. He clapped his hands joyfully. Pink curls bounced on each side of his round face above his rosy cheeks. She liked when he was happy. He needed to smile more often.

"Thanks, Due. We don't get to do this very often. I really miss it." He frowned.

Why was he so cute? It broke her heart every time he broke into tears. Spontaneously she threw her arms around him. Soft rose-colored fabric met her fingers. Trey looked up in surprise. Tears brimmed his gentle emerald eyes. They closed. The cornea of his mouth turned upwards again. Mission accomplished.

"You're welcome. And by the way, I got this for you. I thought you might like it."

From her coat she pulled out a card. It was a Chronomaly, his favorite. She had made it a habit to gift him a card every year for his birthday. Sure, it was almost a month late, but they were hard to come by. It was still hard to believe her baby brother she swore had been born three months ago was fifteen years old

His face lit up when he recognized what the gift was. "Chronomaly Goddess," he read. "Thank you! I'll make sure to use it in all my duels!"

She pointed to the bottom. "Look at her special ability."

"It says I get to add one overlay unit to every Xyz monster on my field. Where did you find this?"

"I have my ways," Due answered mysteriously.

"We can't stall any longer! Let's sign up for the Carnival."

She obliged. Two Heartpieces would be arriving soon.

"And now for our tea," Trey said while picking up his white and silver teacup. He held his small finger out and took short, silent sips. He laughed to himself as though caught in his own personal joke.

Due made the mistake of drinking it quickly. She shrieked at an impossible pitch.

"By the soul of my father and mother! Where's an ice cube when you need it? Seriously though. I can feel my esophagus burning," she choked.

She dropped the teacup, porcelain and tea staining and tearing her coat. "Are you kidding me right now? I'm so close to strangling something!"

Her complaining was interrupted by yet another of Quattro and Quinton's family-famous arguments.

"Quattro, think this over. Why would that plan ever work?" Quinton questioned.

"I'm a good duelist," Quattro protested.

"And that's your defense? This won't work. You're too egotistical."

"I'm the best duelist, then."

"That's false and you know it."

Quattro clenched his fists. "Oh yeah? Well I—"

Trey jumped between his bickering siblings and moved his arms in a "stop" pose. "Quit fighting! It won't get you anywhere. You'll just end up hating each other!"

Due picked more shards from her clothes. "You know, Trey's got a point. Plus you look like idiots when you fight. But I agree with Quinton."

Quattro whipped towards her, hands still balled into fists. "You always side with him just because he's older!"

"Uh, no! I just agree with him! He's got better arguments! Unlike the stuff that comes out of your mouth!" she retorted.

Trey looked as though he was about to burst. His little face was beginning to match the color of his clothing. "Please! Listen to me!"

It was no use. They were completely ignoring him.

They continued to bicker. The noise could practically be heard from outside the abandoned hotel. Vetrix had no choice but to intervene. "Children! Fighting will not bring us any closer to our revenge. I do hope you can work together. You're only stressing yourselves. Stress leads to imperfection, and imperfection leads to failure. And failure is not an option."

Due snorted. "We're the children."

A hateful glance from Quinton made her close her mouth.

Their father played with his long braided blonde hair. "The World Duel Carnival is tomorrow. There is no time to waste. And Quattro, don't forget to give Reginal his Heartpiece."

She plucked a strand of hair and transformed it into a Heartpiece. "Voila!"

"You should be getting back to your continuous mission, Due. Give your brother the Heartpiece," he commanded.

Due did as he asked. She nodded and curtsied. Just as always. For what else could she do?

 **Kite POV**

I had taken the soul of an innocent high school student. He had no number. I had just killed someone a year younger than I. But then again, I could try to use it as a possible bargaining chip. That would be helpful in the future.

I glanced at the place the blue vortex had transported me to. A ginormous constellation of golden gears in the shape of the key was before me. This dimension seemed to have much less gravity than Earth did. Under my feet laid an endless desert. It was void of any sign of life.

"This must be Astralworld," I noted to no one in particular.

I brushed over the soft powdery sand. I grabbed a handful. The tiny particles crumbled away in a cloud of white.

Maybe there was something in only thing that didn't look natural. Maybe that was where I could find whatever seemed to stop Yuma from getting possessed by his numbers.

The gear airship place didn't appear to have anything of interest. I took two steps forward, and I could hear an echo of my footsteps radiating throughout the airship. My fingers met an icy substance identical to the metal-like material of the key when I pressed them against the wall.

A collection of luminous slots with numbers on them decorated the back wall. I moved to touch them.

"What are you doing here?"

I snapped my head to where the voice had come from.

"We meet at last," I smirked.

The alien froze. Number cards floated around him.

"You must be the visitor from Astralworld."

He glowed brighter. "I should have guessed it was you Kite."

"How do you know my name?"

"We were opponents in a duel once."

"Oh really."

Number 39 flew about him.

"That number card…"

Could this being be connected to Yuma somehow?

"Why would you team up with a twerp like Yuma Tsukumo?"

"At least he is not a thief," he shot back. "Are you not the one who took the Golden Key?"

I tapped my lip. "So that's what the pendant's called."

"You also hunt numbers. Why?" he prodded.

I edged around the question. I didn't need an alien to know about my personal life. "Why do you?"

"These cards hold my memories," he replied as though I had asked what the weather was.

How confusing could this get?

"So you need them to remember?" I questioned. Not even rocket science could explain that.

"That is correct." He swallowed nervously. "Now please, tell me why you want numbers. I demand you answer me!"

"I want to learn the numbers' secrets, as well as the secrets of Astralworld and Barianworld," I lied with a smug grin.

The name struck familiarity, but it seemed as though he could not place it. "Barian…"

"The only way to make sure I get the answers I need is to seize all the numbers," I continued. "So I'm going to need you to hand over all the numbers you've collected with Yuma." I held my hand out for emphasis.

He turned away. If I did that, I would never regain my memories."

This answer was expected. "Then I'll just have to get them another way. How about a duel?"

He agreed. We each summoned our duel disks. I had a feeling this would be a challenging fight.


	9. Chapter 9: A Death Trap in Disguise

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Nine: A Death Trap in Disguise

 **Due POV**

Confetti. Smiles on every face save for a few. Hundreds of foreigners arriving on dozens of planes. All blissfully unaware of the Arclights' wicked plot.

"Welcome, duelists!" a giant Heartland hologram greeted. He waved his oversized neon yellow arm. Too-white teeth smiled upon each competitor. Tufts of teal faux fur flew from the collar and sleeves.

Litterbots reprogrammed to play instruments paraded past with multicolored parade floats rolling not far behind. She closed her eyes. She still hadn't gotten over the fact that she'd spent some of her soul on the destruction of trash collectors.

Through the corner of her eye she saw Reginal close his hand into a fist, grief and pain etched into his expression. Quattro smirked in the confetti rain, eying the competition. A group of teenagers a little younger than Trey paraded through the crowd. A Brazilian boy juggled a soccer ball made of cards with his knees. A young photographer took a photograph with his antique camera. A fiery redhead strong-looking man and an amber-eyed blue and violet haired woman gazed down from a hovercraft overlooking everything.

A hand tapped her shoulder. A short brunette bug-eyed boy with green glasses who looked to be about ten years old giggled and flashed his pearly white smile. She slapped his hand away.

"Feisty, I see. How would you like to trade your rarest card for tickets to the most expensive concert in Heartland?" he squeaked.

"That's nice, but I think I'll pass."

His jaw hit the floor. His too-small bowler hat toppled off his spiky head.

"You should go. I don't like concerts anyway," she declined. She squinted. "Aren't you a little young for the World Duel Carnival?"

He snatched his hat from the ground matter-of-factly. "I will have you know I am a first-year student at Heartland Duel School, thank you very much! And I've only lost thirty-seven duels in my life!"

"Thirty-seven? Try six. And that was when I was training at six years old."

His face reddened and he stomped off in an immature rage. Her twin brother surfaced behind her.

"I think I'll hold off till I find real duelists," Quattro intruded.

"Me too. It'll raise the chance of me finding a number owner," she agreed, glancing at the lack of threatening figures.

He made an exasperated noise. "Jeez, Due. When will you learn to do other stuff besides our mission? It's _sooo_ boring."

She slapped his arm. "I am not boring. Besides, we need to get our mission over with so things can go back to normal. And are those your fangirls? 'Cause they're swarming to you like flies."

He walked towards the crowd. "See, now this is what happens when you have fun," he shrugged.

The sea of people separated them speedily.

With him gone, she was free to do as she wished. And she wished to find a specific duelist with a blue glitter obsession.

 **Kite POV**

"The World Duel Carnival has begun. It's time to put our plan into action. So many people coming from everywhere…all completely unaware that it's just so we can take their numbers!" Heartland explained.

I reacted with a bland expression.

"And Kite here is going to take them all! Right, Kite?" he asked, forcing me to answer

"Yes."

Dextra bit her lip. Nistro scowled.

"Why's he get to do everything?" he grumbled.

She sighed. Nistro was ridiculous.

"We're in the Carnival Planning Committee. And therefore we can disqualify any duelist we see unfit for the competition," she explained for the twentieth time.

"Mister Heartland? There's a young duelist at the door," intruded one of Heartland's servants nervously.

He looked down his nose through his bright orange glasses. "So? Dispose of him."

A videoclip appeared, showing Yuma begging on his knees. "I'll give you my life savings! That's over 75 cents!"

If Yuma wasn't in the Carnival, I'd never get to duel Astral.

"Wait."

Heartland paused.

"Someone with this much spirit must be a number owner," I rationalized.

He nodded and pat me on the back. I winced; I hated that.

"Good thinking, Kite! I'm so glad to have you on our team."

I died a little on the inside. I was kidnapped and forced to join him and Doctor Faker. I had been surprised. I thought he was dead. After all, Father disappeared when Hart was a small child. We were left with a cottage in the middle of nowhere and a Barian crystal.

 _"What are you doing, big brother?"_

 _I looked up from my project. "I'm making a robot friend for you."_

 _"Why? You're my best friend," Hart persisted._

 _"That's true, but I need to be able to do things by myself. This robot will be your friend and your guardian. Thanks to the Barian Crystal I fused with his system, he'll never malfunction." I gave him a big hug._

 _He laid on his stomach and propped his head up with his tiny little arms._

 _"Why did Daddy go?" he asked._

 _I tightened my embrace. "He's…leaving for a while."_

 _A light flashed in the robot's eyes. It was so bright. And sparkles orbited in them. That was when I decided he would be named Orbital 7. Why seven? It was the month of Hart's birthday. After all, it was for him. Everything was for him_.

"We'd better get the duel area. We don't want to miss out on the excitement." Dextra interrupted.

"I think I'll pass," I shrugged.

"Alright then," she sighed. "Nistro?"

He flashed a flirty smile which caused her to turn away.

I ignored them. Romance wasn't another piece I wanted to add to the puzzle my life.


	10. Chapter 10: Foolish Fans

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Ten: Foolish Fans

 **Due POV**

Side by side, Quattro and Due entered the circular construction site. Two overly excited fans stood, ready to be spoiled. After forming the plan to defeat all of the fans he had in the the Carnival, Quattro and she had gained three Heartpieces just by dueling fans. There was only one left for each of them. And their egos had been severely boosted from their last few duels.

"Hi! I'm Due, Quattro's older twin sister! But I'm not the one you came here for. It's the one and only maroon and blonde haired, red-eyed, cream-clothed, eye-scarred, super famous duel celebrity: Quattro Arclight!" She knelt on one knee and shook her hands in his direction in a mock introduction.

"Thank you for that introduction, sister. But as you said, that's not what we're here for. We're here to duel you, my dear fans. So let's begin. Oh, that's right. It would take far too long to duel both of you, so why not have a tag team duel instead?" he suggested.

The nerdy-looking blue haired one smiled wider. "Yeah! I love that idea!" He covered his mouth with his hand. "And we can work together to defeat him!" He stopped whispering. "I'm Caswell, by the way."

"And I'm Bronk!" The black haired fan pointed to himself with his thumb.

Due pirouetted. "No stalling now! Let's duel!"

Her Crest began to glow. An image of it projected by her hand. The lines and border fizzled away until all that was left was the heart. It tripled and a black backing formed between the hearts. It latched onto her arm as any duel disk would. A luminous outline formed around her eye in the shape of a fiery heart. From the top of it, color trickled down as rain would on a window. Her signature ombré duel gazer was equipped.

Quattro smirked as a bit of power shot from his Crest and crashed down from high above. A red lightning fire duel disk that bore a resemblance to his Crest shaped around his arm. Purple shockwaves brought it together as though it was a kind of magnet. A violet duel gazer glittered over his eye and turned it blue.

"Augmented reality link established."

Bronk visibly blushed. He was the victim of a one-sided crush. "Okay…I…ah…I summon Aye-Iron in Attack mode. I end my turn."

"I draw! I place a card face down in defense mode." Quattro crossed his arms.

"My move! I summon Shadow Prince in Defense mode! And now I activate its special ability! If it's the only Shadow monster on the field, I can bring its princess, Shadow Duchess! It's your move!" She winked. From a silver carriage came two royals in black ball attire.

It was Caswell next. "I summon Debugger X!"

Quattro applauded them. "Good job! I set a monster and place two cards facedown. And with that, I'll activate the field spell Xyz Coliseum. It means only Xyz monsters can attack, and they gain 200 Attack points."

The first fan smiled giddily. "I summon Tin Goldfish! And thanks to its special ability, I can summon another Tin Goldfish from my hand! I overlay the three monsters in my hand to summon Tin Archduke! I use one overlay unit to put your facedown monster in attack mode!"

The card flipped up to reveal Gimmick Puppet Princess, a slightly creepy-looking redhead puppet in a lacy pink dress.

"My, my, Bronk. What an ability!" She pretended to swoon.

"Tin Archduke, attack Gimmick Puppet Princess!"

Quattro activated his trap, Puppet Repair. He summoned another Gimmick Puppet Princess, but the chubby fan quickly destroyed it yet again with another overlay unit.

Due patted Quattro on the shoulder. "Dear brother, you seem to be doing poorly. I'll help you. When Shadow Prince and Shadow Duchess are on both my field, I can raise their Attack points to 700! I place three cards facedown and end my turn."

The shrouded royals now each held identical silver daggers.

Caswell eyed them. "These guys have got to go! I'll pull that off by summoning Debugger Z, and, thanks to its special ability, Debugger Y! I overlay my three Debuggers to build the overlay network! Come before me, Antidote Nurse! Destroy Gimmick Puppet Princess! After this, you'll be done for!"

A cloud of dust swirled around Quattro. It looked as though he had lost.

Due knew better.

The dust cleared, and he was still standing. "So sorry, but I activated my facedown, Gimmick Box, which reduces battle damage to zero and special summons itself with attack points equal to the damage I would have taken. I'm still in this duel."

They gasped.

"I summon Gimmick Puppet Scarecrow. Then I'll activate Level Doubler. By sending Xyz Effect to the Graveyard, I can increase Shadow Duchess's Level to eight! Thanks to her second ability, Shadow Prince raises his level as well! I overlay Shadow Duchess, Gimmick Box, and Shadow Prince to build the overlay network! Come to me, Number 42: Shadow Gimmick Puppet Stringcutter!"

An explosion began its introduction. However, the fire that came from it was blue. Silvery strands pulled themselves from the fire with shoulder armor pieces in tow. A white human shape formed from the smoke. She drew her fingers over her arms, making silver gauntlets. Each finger had thousands of strings in different shades of violet which combined to create a dress. The strings broke off. The silver strands attached to her head. She opened her eyes to reveal inky black with blue dots for irises. A 42 glowed on her waist.

"I use one overlay unit to cut my opponent's life points down to the defense points of my weakest monster in my Graveyard! It also destroys your monsters, so say goodbye to Tin Archduke and Antidote Nurse!"

Caswell and Bronk's life points dropped to zero.

"I'm not done yet!" he screeched. "Attack with Thread of Death!"

Two threads materialized in front of her. She held a white sword and cut each of them.

The fans were sent flying into unconsciousness…or something much worse.

One of the teenagers Due had seen at the Carnival cried out. "The duel's over! Stop!"

Quattro snapped his head toward him. "I'm not done until I say I'm done! _MY FANS MUST BE SPOILED!_ " he screamed with the face of a madman.

The girl had tears in her eyes. "If you continue this, they'll be hospitalized or worse!"

Due arched her eyebrows. "You think he cares? If you want him to stop, make him!"

The boy who had objected first dashed to his friends. He began to cry. They both looked very, very hurt at best.

The AR link glittered away.

"It got boring," was all Quattro said.

Before he could say more, a strangely shaped motorcycle crashed into the construction site. And the rider happened to be Reginal Kastle.

"Hey Shrimp! I would ask to duel you, but that'd be too hard. After all, I don't want you to lose all those hard-earned Heartpieces. So let's do this the easy way, shall we? So I'll give you this gift my own way," She said.

"Who the heck are you?" Reginal growled.

She twisted her hair around her finger innocently. "I'm Quattro's older twin sister."

He balled his veiny hands into fists. They shook with anger when she said her brother's name. He obviously hated him with a passion.

"How's your sister doing, by the way?"

She had struck a nerve. "Thanks to your stupid brother, Rio's been hospitalized for two years!"

She feigned empathy. "Poor, sweet Shrimp. His little sister's hurt, and he can't help. Too bad no one cares!"

"SHUT UP! Shut up, shut up!" It was working. He had finally snapped.

"Wow, you're so mad, any idiot would think you hate me! But before I go, I might as well give you a good luck card, since I don't see how you could ever get to the semifinals without it. My brother needs a good match. Maybe it'll even help you keep your temper. Hah!" She handed him Number 32: Shark Drake. "Now that wasn't to hard now, was it? We didn't have to waste a good fifteen minutes of our life dueling."

He eyed the card. A violet and pink aura began to flame around him. She could tell he was getting possessed by the number. He screamed in agony. But…It seemed he was fighting it off.

"What's this?" she wondered aloud.

He had indeed fought off the number, but a shard of pure hate had entered his heart. Why else would the unexplained speck of blood on his chest be glowing?

Reginal shuddered. He gave her a look of complete and utter hatred, then wordlessly drove away.

She had succeeded in her mission once more.

 **Kite POV**

I glided across the hazy late noon sky. Everything was good but peaceful, except for one major detail. A huge airship was malfunctioning. If it crashed, hundreds of people would die. If hundreds of people died, the Carnival would be canceled. If the Carnival was canceled, I wouldn't get the numbers. And if I didn't get the numbers, my brother would never heal.

I wouldn't let that happen any sooner than the time I would give up Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.

Orbital slowed down time so I could smash through the window. It was strangely nostalgic, with the broken glass floating around me. Just like the eleventh time I took a number. Time restored to its normal speed. I shook the thought from my head.

What could I do? The room became more and more smog-filled by the second. Where were the pilots?

I had to fly it myself.

A large control panel of buttons was before me. If that was how I flew it, maybe I could pull this off.

The airship was in my control. Pulling on a lever, I returned everyone safely to the ground.

I motioned for Orbital to become my glider once more. And we smashed through the destroyed window. Broken glass glittered through the smoke. One shard grazed my the left side of my face. I tried to ignore the blood dripping from the cut.

Reporters shoved their cameras into the air to try to record the mysterious savior. But all they could obtain was a shrinking black silhouette.

I returned to Heartland Tower without a thought. But one thing was missing. Where was Due? This was unusual. Due was never late. Where was she? But then again, I didn't really want to see her. After all, she had a number card. And that meant I'd have to take her soul to save Hart. Maybe she'd give me the cards. That way I wouldn't have to harm her. Why am I even worried about her? Hart is the only person I care about.

Due pranced in with blue glitter trailing behind. "Hi Kite! Where's Hart? And why are you bleeding?"

"He's helping Mr. Heartland and my father with some work. I just cut myself, that's all." I felt angry when she asked that.

I grabbed a napkin and blotted away any leftover blood. I didn't want anyone worrying about my safety. If they were worried, they should keep it to themselves.

"Okay," she shrugged.

Hart came in on the raising platform. "Hey Kite."

"Hey Hart. Are you ready to visit the fair?" I put my arms around his shoulders.

He shook his head and replied, "No thanks Kite."

Due tilted her head.

"Why not? It's got games and balloons. You love that stuff," I said.

"Did I? I don't think I ever loved anything…"

"That's not true! You liked hide and seek! That's something," she tried.

He stared straight at her. "I was just doing that because you wanted me to. Just following your orders…"

She plucked yet another strand of her hair and waved three fingers above it. But at that second, Hart went into another one of his electric seizures. Except…this was different. It seemed as though the shockwaves harmed Due. She held her head and doubled over in agony. She cried out.

What was going on? Why was she in pain? Did Hart's powers hurt her somehow? If so, why?

"MAKE IT STOP!" they screamed in unison.

What could I do? I hated being helpless like this.

"Why is this happening?" I shouted.

Due opened her pain-filled eyes to look at me. "My powers…are clashing…with his…for some reason!"

I stepped towards her. "What power?"

"My Crest…You know…the one…that lets…me change stuff," she panted, holding up her left hand. Upon it glowed a curly heart with three dashes through it.

The blue surges eventually blinked out like lights in a power outage. Hart was back to normal, and so was Due.

I placed my hand on my hip scowling. She had a lot of explaining to do.

"My power came from Barianworld," she said, reading my mind. "It lets me transform or destroy anything. However, I have to sacrifice a part of myself. So I use my hair. And I have to use a bit of my soul to destroy something…or someone. It has other abilities too. I get access to cards that are hard to control and can own numbers without getting possessed by them. There's one more side effect, though. I'll lose my soul if I lose a duel while wielding a powerful number." She laughed, even though this was anything but a joke.

"Okay." One teenage girl who seemed to be a year younger than I was to hold a soul-crushing power by herself.

"I'm…not the only one with a Crest. My father and brothers have them too. In fact, I share my most powerful card with my brother. Well, Trey doesn't have much power yet. Just soul protection and teleportation. But he'll get them when he needs it."

She pulled a photograph from her pocket. It seemed to be a family photo save for her mother. It was old, with yellowing edges and fading colors, but I could discern Due, her brothers, and her father. She was a cute ten-year-old, with pigtails and a bell-sleeved magenta dress with a whitish apron-like layer. She smiled while holding a chubby orange and white cat with a blue collar.

"This what I fight for. I want everything to go back to how it was. That's why I do what I do." She blinked at the photograph longingly.

 _That explained some most of the strange going-ons. But why did she need the numbers?_

She snapped out of her memories. "Have you gotten any Heartpieces yet?"

"How do you know I'm in the World Duel Carnival?" I raised a blonde eyebrow.

"I didn't. But you're a good duelist, so I thought you entered or at least would want to," she shrugged.

"Well, I did. I've got three Heartpieces now. Good guess."

Due nodded and curtsied. "Sorry I can't stay longer, but I need to get home. Maybe we'll see each other at the Carnival?"

"Maybe we will."

As she left the door, she winked, saying, "Good luck!"

Thanks Due. I would need it.


	11. Chapter 11: The Dragon Awakens

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

 **A/N: Shout out to Marume Chiisa for the reviews!**

Chapter Eleven: The Dragon Awakens

 **Due POV**

The helicopter blades spun around and around, whipping out hair through the cold late night air. Quinton held out his hand in a kind of peace offering.

"I'm Hart's friend," he lied flatly.

He used his Crest to bend Hart's will in his favor.

The teenager who had seen his friends get "spoiled" widened his eyes as Hart let go of his sweaty white grip. His friend covered her mouth. "Hart!"

Hart looked back at him emotionlessly. "I'm on a mission to destroy Astralworld."

The teenager collapsed.

Quinton patted Hart's shoulder. "Come, now."

Due followed him into the helicopter. She was very proud of it. After all, she had never made something as elaborate as a helicopter with her power.

She strapped Hart into his seat wordlessly. He closed his eyes. It made sense. He was still a kid. Surprisingly, she didn't feel awful taking him. She knew this was necessary for my family to be whole again. And maybe taking his power would heal his mental illness. As long as Kite didn't know it was her, she'd be fine.

He stirred in his sleep. "Brother," he muttered.

She gave him an empathetic look. All she could do was pray he wouldn't figure out that she was the one that aided the kidnapping of his brother. That would ruin her mission. And it would break his heart. That was, if he thought of her the way she thought of him.

The old museum in the lake faded into view. Quinton piloted the helicopter just as he had been instructed.

They walked past the aged paintings and shattered statues without a word between each other. Of all her brothers, he was the one she felt the least close to. He was just so emotionless and quiet. And when he did talk, he was usually yelling at Quattro for being the idiot he was. And when he wasn't doing that, his nose was buried in a book.

"Good. We can start the Ritual now," Vetrix greeted giddily.

He had already placed a copy of his Crest on the floor. Quinton levitated Hart from his arms and moved him to the Ritual area. Vetrix walked to him and laid down in the opposite direction. He smiled ghoulishly.

"Soon all the powers of Hart Tenjo will be mine!"

Pink flames radiated off the floor. More came from Hart's chest. The purple chains constricted around the two of them. He twisted in pain.

" _BROTHER! Help…me_ …"

Trey gasped and looked away. Being as he was the peacemaker, it killed him to see innocents in pain. But it had to be done. With this, they'd be one step closer to their revenge.

"Is this Astralworld? It's so beautiful! And it'll be all mine!" Vetrix squealed. The connection had given him some kind of foresight power, it seemed.

The ghastly pink light illuminated the room. Quinton looked at Trey, Quattro, and Due with his serious face. "We have visitors. You should go greet them."

"How did they already find us?" Quattro asked doubtfully.

"Maybe Hart sent a message to Kite," she suggested. "We don't know the extent of his power yet."

"It doesn't matter. They found us, and I need you to dispose of them."

She frowned. "Who are they?"

"Kite, his robot, a duelist named Yuma Tsukumo, and his friend."

Her heart sunk.

"And make sure your twin brother doesn't get into any trouble."

Trey, who had yet not been dismissed, nodded. "We'll make sure that happens."

They entered the main room's second floor. From the top of a headless statue they watched four figures run inside. Quattro nodded to Trey and she. They braced themselves, then gracefully leapt from the statue and glided down to the first floor. They landed on their feet, but crossed one leg behind the other and hopped up to make sure.

Kite focused on Due. She trembled. "Due?" he asked, his eyes shaking with hurt.

"I…" she tried to explain. The words just wouldn't come.

"What have you done to my brother?" he demanded.

She covered her eyes. She feared if she couldn't see him, she wouldn't cry. She plucked a strand of hair. But her powers would never get her out of this situation.

Quattro noticed her lack of words. "He's not hurt…yet." He smiled his his evil smirk.

Kite bristled with fury. "Return him to me, you son of a—"

"Now, now. Let's not get mad too quickly. How about we let you retrieve him early on the condition you duel us?"

Yuma perked up at those words. "A duel? That sounds like a great idea!"

Kite cursed. "Fine, but I'm doing this alone."

Yuma pouted. "Three against one isn't fair! I don't care if you don't want my help! We dueled, so we're friends now!"

"Kite, please understand. We took him to—"

"I don't want to hear about whatever hell my nine-year old brother is going through. What matters is stopping you. It's sickening that I could trust you with the one thing I care about. You're like pyrite. It may be beautiful and sparkly, but in the end is worth nothing."

She never thought she would hear such cold words from the one she loved. But Quinton's orders came first. Stretching her arm in his direction, she attached to him with her duel leash. Trey copied on Yuma.

"I hope you'll forgive me."

 **Kite POV**

 _BROTHER!_

"I'll save you. You'll be safe soon," I comforted him telepathically.

What I needed to focus on was the issue at hand. The girl I thought I could trust had kidnapped Hart. Was that why she had become his entertainer? To find out when he would be gone so she and her brothers could take him from me?

Quattro smiled demonically. "I suppose we can duel, then?"

"Fine. Photon Transformation!"

As always, my coat changed from black to white. And just like always, it was just a bit more excruciating than the last. I flashed back to what Dextra had said about it.

 _"Kite." Dextra grabbed my shoulder._

 _"What is it?"_

 _She stared at her feet. "You can't take this risk. If you overuse the Photon Transformation, you'll die."_

 _I heard the word "die" too often. "I know. I'm still going to hunt numbers. I have to save Hart. And this is the only way." My voice shook._

 _She nodded. "I understand, but I need you to remember that. I love you, Kite. You are to me as Hart is to you."_

 _I brushed her off. "Well stop."_

 _She placed her hand over her mouth in shock._

 _"I don't feel the same way towards you. All you'll get from this one-sided crush is sadness and heartbreak."_

 _I walked away to leave her in her thoughts._

I know now I should have listened to my own advice.

"It's my move now! You better hold onto your decks! I summon Gimmick Puppet Egg Head. By activating its effect, I can deal you 800 points of damage by by banishing a monster in my hand to the graveyard!"

A strong gust of wind came my way, almost knocking me over.

"I set a card facedown and end my turn."

Don't worry. I'll be there soon.

"I activate the field spell, Photon World!"

Yuma paled and covered his mouth. "But if we're in space, that means… No oxygen," he said glumly.

Yuma's friend smacked a palm to her forehead. "Yuma, it's a hologram. You're fine."

This was why I didn't want his help. Yuma was a complete idiot.

"Each time a Photon monster is summoned, anyone without a Photon monster on their field will take damage equal to the monster's level times a hundred. I summon Photon Crusher and therefore deal each of you 400 points of damage. I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Yuma waved his arms like a madman. "But I don't have a Photon monster out! Gaah!"

Four comets of yellow destruction rained down on everyone but me.

Due's cries were the loudest. "Kite," she begged. "I don't want to fight you. By taking his powers, we can heal his illness!"

I stared at her blandly.

"He was fine before he had his powers, right? So theoretically that's what hurt him. And if that's so, then taking them away would heal him."

" _Anyone_ _can_ _lie_ ," I whispered.

Trey bit his lip and said something unintelligible. "Can we get back to the duel, please? I'm summoning Chronomaly Golden Jet. I activate the spell Chronomaly Resonance from my hand, which lets me special summon another Chronomaly that is one level higher than the one on my field! Come to me, Chronomaly Goddess!"

She smiled sadly. "Glad you're putting the card to use."

He returned it. "I use Golden Jet's effect to change it to Level Five! I overlay these two monsters to build the overlay network! Xyz summon Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech! I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

Yuma eyed the number. "Gee, I've never seen a number with its own zip code!" He recovered from the shock relatively fast. "I summon Ganbara Knight. Because he's Level Four, I can summon Kagetokage from my hand in attack mode! With these two monsters I build the overlay network! Appear before me Number 39: Utopia! I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

Her eyes widened. "He possesses the Original Number. I guess it's my move then. I activate the continuous spell, Blessing of the Lost. For every monster that is defeated in battle, I gain 100 life points. However, if I bring a monster back from my Graveyard, the spell will be broken. But that won't be of use without some monsters, now will it? So I'll bring Shadow Jinxer Girl to the field. And by activating her effect, I gain 200 life points until she is destroyed. Then I'll activate the other continuous spell, Cloak of Shadows. This makes me immune to any field spell effect. Using my final spell, I equip Shadow Jinxer Girl with Staff of Shadows, which raises her Attack points to 900!"

The ginger haired witch girl trailed a long-nailed finger from her crimson eye. She posed with one hand on her hip as a short black wand with a silver bead at the top glittered into her hand.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way. But that doesn't change the fact that you're in my way. I can't let love cloud my judgement."

Her eyes shook. And I felt as though I was witnessing Hart going through an electrical seizure.

"Hate to interrupt," Quattro butted in. "It was so lovely. And the drive for collecting numbers? Poor Hart. It's so sad I could cry!" He pretended to wipe away tears. He cackled. This was like a depressing movie for him.

"L-l-look in the mirror!" Orbital 7 insulted.

 _How dare this son of a Barian insult me!_

"Give me back my brother!" I screamed.

"Hey Kite? Forgetting something? I use the spell Level Doubler to change my puppet's level to eight! I banish my Dreary Doll and overlay it! Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder!" Quattro mimicked my angry demeanor.

"And I activate my facedown, Number Wall. It prevents my numbers from getting destroyed by card effects." Trey explained in a bratty voice.

"I detach one overlay unit to destroy all Xyz monsters on the field and deal their attack points as damage!" Quattro added.

 _BROTHER! HELP ME!_

 _Hart! I'm coming, I promise. Just give me a little time._


	12. Chapter 12: Family Leave

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

 **A/N This is my favorite episode in the entire series, so I'll be giving Trey his own point of view. Transcript from the website** cliosite/epguide/zx2_transcripts/tzx046_

Chapter Twelve: Family Leave

 **Due POV**

Trey had a determined look in his eye. He walked straight ahead, emerald eyes focused on the place he needed to get to. Or rather, the person. Due followed, knowing exactly what he wanted.

 _Their life points dropped to zero. Kite had beat them all, thanks to the power given to him by Hart. A blue hand extended from his own and reached for Quattro's heart. A brilliant light barrier in the shape of his Crest blocked it. Sweat rolled down her neck. Her eyes shook in fear._

 _A much brighter hand came Trey and Due's way. Their Crests blocked it as well._

 _Quattro opened an overlay portal and motioned for Trey to follow. He looked back once, and entered the vortex._

 _She let one final tear go. As she glittered away, she brushed her lips on Kite's soft cheek. His cry echoed in her memory_.

"So, you seek to learn more about Yuma Tsukumo? I grant you permission. He's a bigger threat than I thought. But not for long!" he giggled maniacally.

Trey nodded. Vetrix's laughter trailed behind him.

"Now that he's gone, I'd like you to visit the Tenjo brothers. After your last run-in, you lost his trust. I need you to get it back."

Due said nothing. She watched the screens loop the same clips again and again. If only she was as joyful as the characters in them.

"I'll go do that. Also, can I watch Trey from afar to make sure he does not lose the duel we both know he will participate in?"

He waved a white gloved hand nonchalantly, and granted her permission.

She held her head high as she formed an overlay portal. After what had happened, she knew she had to make amends with Kite. But she was afraid. What if he would rather she would leave him be? What if he wished her dead?

She touched her full pink lips, still amazed she had kissed him. That was another thing. What did he make of that?

If only she knew what was going on.

But fate didn't care for Due Arclight.

And love despised her.

She knocked on the metal door. "Kite? I'm here to entertain Hart. Please forgive me."

The robotic door opened to give way to Kite on his knees by a comatose Hart. One lone tear escaped his left eye.

She walked towards him. He didn't acknowledge her or even seem to know she was behind him.

"Don't bother," he said suddenly. "You and your brothers killed the only thing I'm still alive for."

Due put a hand on his shoulder. He had taken off his coat, and coarse grey fabric twisted in her grasp. He did not shake her off. Hart lay completely still, his chest not rising a bit.

"Why?" he asked.

"What?"

"Why did you kill him?" He turned to face her. "And what the heck was that kiss for?"

She blushed. "Heh. Are you that mad? I guess I just wasn't really thinking. What's that cut from?"

He looked surprised that she had asked. He brushed his fingers on his cheek. Great. Now when he did stuff like that, she'd flash back to that horrible night. "I was injured by a shard of a broken window. It's a long story."

She nodded. "I really am sorry. We didn't kill him, either. We just took his powers. Probably wasn't supposed to say that. But the Fates already hate me. The one with the shears is probably that close to cutting my string." She gestured the closeness with her fingers for emphasis.

He closed his mouth. He obviously wasn't in any kind of joking mood.

"So, I guess there's no point to having an entertainer if the child's asleep, huh?"

No answer.

"I guess I'll see you at the Semifinalist Ball then?"

He knew she could teleport, so she had no issues creating an overlay portal to leave.

Due landed on a chain link fence. She waved her arms around, trying in vain to stop her fall.

She cursed. She was a victim of this way too often. From a distance, she could see Trey forming an overlay portal, and she mentally slapped herself. Of course he would pick to go right then. And the number seemed to be losing its control of Reginal.

Could it get any worse?

Trey looked for anyone that could be watching. His pink curls swished left and right. He darted towards the Tsukumo house. Pale fingers tapped at his parted lips. He stared at the wall under the open window.

 _Please tell me he's not going to do parkour._

Yep. He was climbing the wall.

 _How is he… You're joking me. He made a rope._

Gracefully, he leapt through the open window. Great. She'd never see anything from there. The best she could do was wait for him at the steps.

Today just wasn't her day.

 **Trey POV**

Trey's black-booted feet met the dark wood soundlessly. He gazed around himself to see where exactly he was.

A smile tugged at his lips. The walls were littered with historical relics he could easily name. He grasped a beaded necklace carefully. Admiring the skilled handiwork, he returned it to its place.

On a small table stood a photograph of two adults in their late twenties. The orange-haired young woman held the golden pendant Yuma always wore, and the man smiled at her lovingly.

The man looked familiar. Had he met him in the past? Was he someone he had met as a child? Maybe it was because he was Yuma'd father. Well, he assumed he was. Why else would he have the pendant?

"Who are you?" asked an old woman.

He had been caught. He scratched his head, trying to come up with a good excuse. "Uh, I'm a friend of Yuma's!"

She hunched over a duel gazer she pulled from her pocket. "I can never figure out how to make these work."

Trey pointed to the small button at the top. "That's how you call someone," he explained.

She nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you, my boy." She spoke to the gazer. "Yuma, your friend is here." She hung up. "You can wait here for him."

She left, and he glanced around with a huge smile on his face once more. An intricate wooden mask lay before him. Gently, he grabbed it and put it over his head.

A tan hand grasped the floor. That hand was connected to Yuma.

"Yuma! It is fate!" he cried like a mad priest.

Yuma looked at Trey and jumped three feet back. The blood drained from his face as he shivered in the corner.

He removed the mask. "Fate that brought me to your house today!"

Yuma visibly sighed.

"Otherwise I would never have discovered all these artifacts! You have Aztec masks, Paleolithic tools, and no way! A royal Incan necklace? Sorry for geeking out, but this collection is incredible! It's just like the stuff in my favorite cards!"

He moved his hand to his pocket and pulled out Chronomaly Goddess and Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem.

"Look!" he said proudly.

Yuma squinted. "Isn't that an Aztec Mask Golem? And that one super overpowered card you used to summon Machu Mech?"

He grinned happily, his eyes glittering in the late afternoon sunlight seeping in from the stained glass window. "This one's the first card I ever collected, and this one's a gift from my sister. They're both Chronomalies, and are the connection to other dimensions. Earth is part of an multidimensional matrix, and Chronomalies may've come here from another dimension. My father was a researcher, and taught me about them." he explained, spreading out his arms.

Yuma clapped. "Whoa! My dad was into that kinda stuff, too! He'd go on expeditions and always bring things back!

Trey nodded. "Wow, that's cool. It sounds like he was somebody who loved adventure."

"Heheh, yep! Just like me!" The black and pinkette punched the air.

He gasped and backed up, eyebrows arching. He seemed to have suddenly remembered what happened two days ago.

"Ugh! We have way more important things to discuss! Like what you guys did to Hart!" His eyes shook with compassion.

He bowed, hanging his head in sorrow. He could barely forgive himself for he had done that night, let alone his brothers.

"I know," he muttered sadly.

Yuma scratched his head. "Huh?"

"I feel truly sorry for what happened to him."

"Really?"

He stood up again, but focused his eyes on the masks decorating the wall. "I truly do, but I guess...I figured the best way to duel...was to tap into the anger in my heart. But then, I saw how you duel, and I realized there might be a better way."

For once, he firmly believed in what he said.

"Huh," was his answer.

"What's your secret? I've seen how unselfish you can be when you're dueling. Is that the source of the power you have?" he asked, hoping for an answer.

He made a confused face, asking, "Whaddaya mean, power?"

"The way you duel... is unlike anything I've seen. Like you're dueling with all your heart and nothing can stop you!" He clutched his fist to his heart.

Yuma blew a tiny mushroom cloud. "I duel that way because... because uh... it's the only way I know how to duel!" He spread his arms for emphasis.

"Huh?"

"I just always try, to high-five the sky!"

"High-five the sky?" He repeated.

He punched the air and continued, saying, "Right! When I was small, my father told me to never give up or stop trying! Feel the flow and go for it!"

That brought a smile to his face. "That's awesome advice!"

A young woman who looked to be about Quinton's age appeared upon the creaky wooden stairs.

"Hey Yuma, lunch is ready! Come on! And you're all welcome to join us." She waved to Trey nonchalantly.

Yuma'd grandmother placed a pile of rice balls on the table.

"Oh yeah! duel fuel! Let's dig in!" He reached for the platter hungrily.

"Yuma!" She slapped his hand away. "Not so fast. Wait for everyone to sit."

"Uh... sorry, grandma," he blushed.

"Good boy!" She nodded at him like he was a dog.

His elder sister carried glasses of water. "Please, Yuma. Try to eat like a human today," she pleaded exasperatedly.

He grumpily agreed.

Tori clapped at the collection of foods on the table. "Wow! That looks delish!

He stared at them, not really sure of what he was supposed to do.

"There's plenty," the ponytailed young woman invited. "Have a seat."

No stranger had ever been this kind to me without ill will. "Uh, thank you," he managed to say.

Yuma snatched a ball of rice and stuffed his face bigger than seemed possible. "Not bad, but kinda small though!"

I remember when we were like this. But thanks to Faker, I can't remember the last time we laughed together.

A litterbot with a pink bow on its head held another tray with five teacups on it. "Tea is ready. Tea is ready. Be careful. Tea is hot." It served Yuma his tea first. "Sip it slowly, this time, Yuma," it advised.

He pouted. "Hey, I know how to drink tea."

"No you don't. No you don't," it insisted.

He sipped the tea. It took him about one second to react by flailing his arms everywhere. "Aaahh! Why didn't you warn me it was hot?"

"Yuma stinks at drinking tea," it concluded.

Trey giggled at the sight. His reaction matched Due's almost perfectly. All he needed now was for the teacup to break and spill on his lap.

"I don't see what's so funny, Trey!" he said, offended.

"You're right, Yuma. The way you eat isn't funny. It's disgusting," his sister insulted dryly.

"I can't help it if I'm in a rush!" he protested, stuffing even more rice in his mouth. "It's an emergency!" He swallowed and pulled his deck from his pocket. "Honest. I gotta duel."

She snatched the cards from his hand. "No cards at the kitchen table! Got it?"

"I was just showin' ya! Give 'em back, sis! You don't want me to get eliminated from the tournament, do ya?" he pleaded, genuinely worried.

If only my sister taking my cards were the greatest of my worries.

"You'll get 'em back, when we're all done," she promised.

He was almost on his knees now. "That could take forever! Can'tcha see I'm in a hurry?"

They continued talking, but the words sounded like gibberish as his mind focused on a hazy memory that took place before everything happened.

 _Snow fell from the blackish blue sky. Michael and Thomas laughed on the scarlet couch, laughing at a silly story Chis had told them. A fire blazed in the hearth. Their big white dog, Alexander, napped by it. At that moment, Michael remembered the card his father had given to him as a gift earlier that day. He pulled it from his pocket and displayed it proudly. "Oh Thomas! I almost forgot to show you! It's an Aztec Mask Golem! Father gave it to me today!"_

 _Thomas pouted jealously. "How come I didn't get one too? I want it!" He yanked the card from his hand._

 _"Hey! Give it back to me! That's my card!" Michael cried._

 _He shook his blonde and maroon head. He did everything to keep it out of reach, jumping, sitting quickly, and running away. "Oh, yeah?"_

 _Michael exasperatedly asked again. "Ugh! Come on! Let me have it back!"_

 _He jumped off the couch and wiggled the card under his nose. "Ya gotta take it from me!"_

 _Chris turned from the red-curtained window._

 _"Get your own Mask Gol—"_

 _"All right, that's enough, you two. Father should be home any minute, so you'd better behave," Chis suggested._

 _"Ergh! He started it!" Thomas argued, pointing to his little brother._

 _"Me?"_

 _They went back to the couch._

 _"Can I please have it back?" It was at that moment Isla walked in and glared at Thomas. He was in trouble with her again for something._

 _"Okay," he agreed, afraid what she might do if he refused. "You guys be on your best behavior, and I'll teach you how to duel later," Chris promised._

 _All three children smiled at him._

 _"That a promise?" Thomas asked. He wanted to be sure._

 _"Yeah! I actually wanna learn how. No lies!" Isla added. "Please?" She added hopefully._

 _He agreed with a smile. "Sure!"_

 _Michael beamed. "Thanks, Chris!"_

 _He broke out of his hazy daydream._

 _Yuma was still talking. "Just watch me! I'll be the tournament champion!" Tori put her hands on her hips. "You haven't even advanced yet! You're one win short still!" she reminded him._

Trey glanced back at the rice in his hand, but it no longer looked appetizing.

My family used to be like this…but that was so long ago.

He placed the barely-touched rice back on the plate.

They noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Not feeling well?"

His vision blurred. The tears in his eyes finally began to flow. He let them fall down his face and dampen the polyester tablecloth.

"Are you okay?" Yuma asked.

Trey sniffed and wiped his eyes. Lunch at someone else's house was no place or time to cry.

"Please excuse me, but I have to leave!" he choked, his voice rough in his throat.

He had to reach the door. Once out of the house, he could return home. He just had to get to the door.

"Trey, hold up!"

He ignored him and squeezed his eyes shut to avoid more tears from coming.

Sorry, Yuma, but I know what I have to do now.

"Trey, what's goin' on!"

He stopped to speak with him. "After spending time with you, I think I understand now, Yuma. It's your family. They give you power. It's not the same with me. My family is different than yours. It wasn't always that way. We used to be as happy as your family is." He closed his eyes. "The day we swore we'd get revenge on our enemies, everything changed. It was like we became different people." Droplets fell from his eyes.

"Maybe, once we do get our revenge, we'll go back to the way we were." He opened his eyes and spun back to Yuma, anger filling his eyes.

"You're in our way! We can't get vengeance because you keep getting in our way! I will find a way to defeat you. For the sake of my family, I must!"

"You're wrong, Trey; revenge isn't the answer. It'll just destroy you!" His fists shook as he tried to explain that revenge would never help.

"I have to be loyal to my family!" he retorted, shaking his head.

"But Trey—"

"I'll do whatever I have to, Yuma!" He whipped his head back towards him.

"Oh, yeah?"

"You'll see!"

Trey reached into his pocket. He tossed a white letter-shaped device to him.

"Here! We'll settle this tonight, once and for all!"

Yuma began to talk to his imaginary friend. "I guess," he said to no one in particular.

"We're gonna have a duel, Yuma!" He turned his back and began to walk away. "And you will lose!"

"Trey! Don't go!

He continued to walk. He barely acknowledged Due when he passed her.

She grasped his shoulder gently. "Trey, you can't duel him. You're not strong enough! He's—"

"Stop treating me like I'm weak!" he screamed. "I am just as capable as you! And if you want to stop me from participating in this duel, forget it! Don't you want to be a family again? With Yuma in our way, we can never be that!"

Tears shined in his eyes. "If that's not what you want, then you can forget about us ever being happy again."

His shoulders shook. And to keep her from comforting him, he created an overlay portal. He still had to talk to Vetrix, after all.

 _I'm sorry. Yuma. Due. I pray you won't hate me._

Quinton turned from Vetrix's looping videoclips. "You're back?"

Silently he stood in his waiting place. He waited to be acknowledged.

"Welcome home, Trey. Was your trip a success?" He greeted.

"Yes. I guess."

"You don't have to tell me a thing. I already understand. You're hungry for power…The power that can help you crush Yuma Tsukumo!" He turned to him.

"Yes!"

 **Kite POV**

Hart lay silent, and perfectly, perfectly still.

"Master K-k-kite?"

I hung my head. Tears splashed on his bed. I clutched the sheet, hanging onto my sanity and my life by a thread.

"Have you du-du-dueled today?"

"No, Orbital."

"You earned all of your H-heartpieces, yes?"

"Yes, but it's not important anymore. I failed at the only thing I couldn't. The Carnival will go on. I'm sure Dextra or Nistro will be able to join." I collapsed, the emotional strain too hard to handle.

"Kite, sweet boy! Have you forgotten that if this person that hurt your brother is in the finals, you could duel him for vengeance? Maybe that would free his soul!" Heartland intruded.

I swore under my breath. He always seemed to come when I wanted to see him the least.

But then again… His theory sounded very accurate. By eliminating the person that stole Hart's soul, maybe I could save him after all. And the thief would pay with his life.


	13. Chapter 13: Crestfallen

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, which belongs to its respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Thirteen: Crestfallen

 **Due POV**

The chains tightened around Trey. His screams tore through the otherwise uncomfortable silence. They crescendoed continuously. His expression was one of a man who had just realized he had been impaled.

Vetrix, however, seemed to be enjoying the Ritual very much, and even let out a small giggle.

Due blindfolded her eyes and ears using a bit of power. It was too awful. She couldn't handle it. It was as though Quattro had scarred himself all over again.

 _He came slowly, hunched over. Something hefty lay upon his shoulder. His clothes smoldered, and smoke fizzled from his hair. As he came more into focus, she could see one eye was covered by a burnt hand. The thing on his shoulder was not a thing, no, it was a severely burned girl. What was left of her hair hung in clumps, and a pungent smell of smoke radiated off her. Almost all of her dress had been burned off. Another smell came from the both of them: the smell of blood. Red oozed from his fingers and splattered on the ground. What remained of the girl's dress was stained scarlet._

 _"Brother!" Due cried. Seven multicolored shopping bags dropped to the uneven asphalt._

 _He collapsed much like one of his Puppet cards. With his hand off his eye, she could see blistered skin peeling around it in a t-shape._

 _"Due? I…didn't realize…the card had this…much power. Where's the nearest…hospital at?"_

 _"Quattro?" She swiped away a tear._

 _"Please…I didn't…save her…for no reason," he said._

 _Using the last bit of strength he had left, he pulled himself to his feet and took a deep breath. He grasped the girl's face and blew into her lips. There was no doubt he wished for her to live._

She blinked. The Ritual had ended. Trey closed and opened his eyes a few times.

That flashback, though. It reminded her why she still loves him, even when he acts like an egotistical sadist. It's because he'll sacrifice his life for a person he just met. And under his mask of high self esteem hides a little boy whose childhood was stolen.

"Now that that's out of the way, I can get to what I must do. And that is to end the life of Yuma Tsukumo and his pesky friend from Astralworld!" Trey laughed, first a soft bit of joy, and then a complete cackle too close to the one his father had for comfort. This new power had changed.

She shook out her insecurities. Trey had gained the power to stop Yuma. He was only a minor wrench in the works, but he was an exceptional Number Duelist. And it wasn't just any number. The son of Kazuma Tsukumo possessed the Original Number. Not to mention that to have an Astral being a hostage would be nice. Maybe he knew of their mother.

Trey vanished. But as he left, he gave her a few words. "I thank you for your support. I'll kill him, and we'll even be closer to getting our revenge. And then we'll be just like we were."

She nodded to Quinton. "What shall we do now?"

"Ah, that. Vetrix and I shall watch Trey's duel from afar. And you can go pick a dress for the Finalist Ball. Do try to find something for Quattro, Trey, and I as well." He waved her off.

She balled her hands into fists. "You're saying that I have to go shopping when my little brother might die?"

"I am the eldest! As Vetrix must heal after the Ritual, I am in charge. Quattro will accompany you." He narrowly missed the reason she was worried. He was entirely unaware of her worries for Trey.

"Fine," she agreed. He was scary when he got angry.

"For your information, I'm only doing this because Quinton asked. We'll get this over with. Are you even listening to me?"

Quattro was too busy adjusting his cape. "Do I look like a thief to you?" he frowned.

"For the love of—forget it."

She plucked a strand of hair and snapped her fingers, and the cape became a third-year Heartland Duel School uniform. His hair flattened, straightened, and shortened to a clean black cut.

"Happy now?"

"Very, sweet sister of mine. I can't help that I'm the greatest, most popular, most fabulous duelist in Asia!" He blabbered on, boosting his ego to impossible levels.

"Can we just get our clothes already?" she grouched.

They weaved through the crowds of people until they found what they were looking for. A tailor. She could barely believe her eyes. Most tailors were robots now.

"I'm here to get my fitting. I want a formal dress this color and this length," she said, pointing to her coat and placing her hand right above her knees.

Behind a rack, an ice blue haired young man with violet eyes stared. His long lost fiancé was here!

No one noticed.

"Isla?"

She snapped her head back to the voice. "Maxwell?"

"Is that that Pegasus guy you almost got married off to?" Quattro asked.

"Who might this 'friend' of yours be?" Pegasus asked.

"I'm the champion of—what the heck, Due?" Quattro rubbed his red cheek where she had slapped him.

He tilted his head. "Due? I thought your name was Isla?" He said it as a question.

"When I ran away, I changed my name. Isla reminded me that I would have been a Pegasus if I hadn't," she spat. "And what an awful husband I would have had. All you care about is money and releasing new cards!"

He placed a gloved hand on his chest. "I'll let you know that I am a semifinalist in the World Duel Carnival. I'm here for clothing for the ball. Et toi?"

What was he talking about? Why shop for clothes when he already was dressed as a professional businessman? Or at least what she thought was a businessman, with the long-tailed red blazer with blue trim.

"Same. But watch your back. I'm not the girl I six years ago." With one last glare she turned back to Quattro. "Come on, Tom," she said, naming a random young duelist from memory.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him out. "Just remembered I could make our clothes with my power. I think he sent us off just to rid himself of us. And—WHAT THE HECK THAT IS ADORABLE!" She pointed gleefully at the deep scarlet coat in a window. "Trey will love this!"

They dashed inside and paid the fee. Speeding out, they teleported back to the hotel.

"We're home, Vetrix! Quinton!"

The light from the door displayed their long shadows. Vetrix gazed upon what was before him. A bed with six expensive satin pillows lay in the middle of the Ritual room. Someone was occupying it.

Due dropped her shopping bag to see who it was. Her footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent place.

Her shadow fell upon the boy's face. Pink hair splayed messily around his round head. Black eyelashes curled over his half-closed lifeless emerald eyes.

The dead boy was Trey Arclight.

 **Trey POV**

"I'm sorry I couldn't defeat Yuma. But I understand now. Evil won't bring our family together again. Love will. Please tell Quattro and Quinton I love them."

"Trey! Please hang on! I'll help you! We can't be a family without you!" She gripped her skirts.

It was no use. He understood he was going to die. Father smiled grimly.

"I'm sorry I failed you."

"It'll be alright Trey," he comforted, patting his bare shoulder.

"Can I ask you one last thing? Hold my hand?" He struggled to keep open his tear-filled eyes. The expensive blankets dampened around his neck.

Vetrix held his limp hand as asked. "Remember you are loved."

Drowsiness chipped away at his consciousness. And before he could say goodbye, his soul faded from his body.

 _I love all of you_ , were the last words he could remember thinking.

 **Quattro POV**

Vetrix slowly closed the door to Trey's new permanent bedroom. But things didn't add up. Why would he trust someone significantly less powerful than I to give a special power that wasn't shared?

I had to know.

"Vetrix! Wait! Please hear me out! You have to! I wanna show you what I can do. Give me the same powers you entrusted to Trey!" I pleaded.

Quinton bowed his head miserably.

Vetrix stopped walking for a moment. He turned to face me with disdainful look. "And why should I do that, Quatro? So you can squander them and fail me? Just like your brother Trey did?"

What did he mean? Hadn't he just told Trey that he had done well? Trey had given his life to help us get our revenge. And according to him, his death was for nothing!

"Huh?! VETRIX!" I ran to face him directly. "How can you be so cold and ruthless? Trey dueled the original Number for you! And look at him now! What more do you want?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It's quite simple, really: results."

My heart shattered just a bit more.

"And I've found someone who is more likely to deliver than you," he continued. "Reginald Kastle! Ah, but you would likely know him better by his dueling moniker, 'Shark'."

Shark. The boy one year my junior whose sister I had almost killed. The boy who had sworn to have his revenge sated. The boy who possessed Number 32: Shark Drake.

Vetrix began to walk away again.

"No! Give me a chance! Vetrix, please!"

He vanished into the shadows of the corridor to leave me alone in my thoughts.


	14. Chapter 14: A Ball of The Dead-to-Be

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Fourteen: A Ball of the Dead-To-Be

 **Due POV**

Due pulled the magenta cotton sleeves over her round pale shoulders. The lace skirts swished around her long legs. She brushed on pink blush and radiant golden eyeshadow.

Her aquamarine eyes had no joy in them. She was mourning a death. Her sweet, innocent, hopeful brother had lost his soul. The scarlet jacket lay unused in a box by his bed. She prayed that if he woke, he would know it was from her.

Quattro looked up from what he was doing. "Due? Are you alright? If it's about him, forget about it. Tonight, try to forget our loss."

She gathered her hair and pulled half of it into a side ponytail and the other a rose-shaped bun. "I know. It's just…What if he never wakes up? What if you or Quinton lose your soul? What will happen then? I can't lose all of you."

"I understand. So I'll try to find a mediocre competition. Happy?"

She sniffed. "I'll try."

Her lips bent into a small smile. "And I have Kite to complain to. Heh. Never thought I'd fall for a son of Faker."

He open his lips in surprise and closed them. With four fingers he tugged of his white undershirt to change into his black dress shirt. With his back exposed, she could see flame scars cutting across his back.

"I still don't regret them. Even if they were for someone I just met. It makes me feel better when I remember that I saved the life of an innocent. And good Don Thousand was she beautiful." A wistful smile appeared on his face.

She shook out her inner darkness. This was a party. And parties were a realm of happiness.

"But we'd better get ready fast! Don't want to miss it." he advised.

She blinked away any other issues. This was a night to escape from her darkness. Even if she hated living in it when her brother wasn't.

She presented the Heartpiece to the guard. Without any issues she walked into the illuminated ballroom. A cake with seven layers towered above her head. Just by looking at it she knew it would fall on the first person to touch it.

Quattro had done naught but enter the building, and already he was swamped by teenage girls. He pulled a pen from behind his ear to sign autographs, and the girls collapsed. One wink set them off their feet and onto their knees.

Quinton had decided not to dress for the occasion. He was talking to someone, but they were blocked to her by the ridiculously tall cake.

But it lacked the one thing she wished it had.

She glanced around to look for Kite. There he stood, staring at the window. His face had been cleverly hidden. Just as Quinton was, he wore his normal attire.

"Hi Kite."

"Due?"

"The night sky sure is beautiful, huh? It reminds me of that dragon you used in our duel," she said. "How's Hart? Is he any better?"

"He hasn't changed since your visit." He pressed his hand against the glass.

"I guess it's my turn to bring some bad news. To summarize, karma hates me. Trey lost his soul last night. And now I'm so worried. What if Quinton or Quattro lose theirs? If they do, I'll–I'll…" Due let silver tears fall from her eyes.

He turned to her. He lifted his arms and affectionately wrapped then around her.

Scarlet lips parted in surprise. Tears splashed on his shoulders.

"I guess it's a life for a life, huh? Hart's for Trey's."

Kite touched the liquid metal.

"Bet you're weirded out that I have silver tears, huh?" she sniffed. "It's the side effect of my powers. The more stuff I destroy, the more precious my tears become, and the more my soul is torn from my body. I guess I'm going to die pretty soon, then. Heh." She laughed, as though caught in a joke. "But who cares? We can never be a family again if but one member is missing."

He wiped her tears away lovingly. "It's okay. And if there's one less person in your life that loves you, I'll love you twice as much."

And with those words he wrapped his arm around her back and kissed her lips.

Aquamarine eyes widened. They closed slowly so she could sink into the moment. The music flowed around them.

 _Approaching and stretching our hands towards the light leading into tomorrow, we watched as the dream of this world was expanding at our feet._

 _I have no idea where dreams or hope can be found. No matter how hard I look, they're nowhere to be seen. Have they perhaps fallen into the crevice between truth and lie? Our tale hasn't even begun._

 _Even if the path leading into tomorrow seems about to collapse, let's leap right onto it before we lose our determination!_

 _In order to grasp that ever elusive truth, let's seek out hope from the invisible future. We will be running with a heart stronger than anyone else's. In order to find the strength to overpower our weakness, we, together with our irreplaceable comrades, we watched as the future of this world was expanding at our feet._

 _Embracing a heart on the brink of breaking from too much hesitation and regret, we wish to find the proof for ourselves from our tale, just like how we'd locate a shining willpower in the darkness._

 _Our past, where we used to think we were all alone, was merely the path for us to build our tomorrow._

 _I reached out my hands and seized something shapeless but precious. No matter how many times I lose it, I will recover it. The words mobilizing my heart are the same words that pierced through me when I, mistaking my immaturity for weakness, was running away. I won't run anymore. I will live on in this world, for my irreplaceable comrades are right behind me cheering me on._

 _I only wish to have faith. By merely believing in the arrival of tomorrow, my former stagnating self has disappeared. I wish to learn the truth._

 _In order to grasp that ever elusive truth, let's seek out hope from the invisible future._

 _We will be running with a heart firmer than anyone else's. We wish to find the strength to overpower our weakness. We will always have a will more powerful than anyone else's. We wish to find the true strength hiding behind our fragileness. In order to find that strength, we, to gather with our comrades, watched as the future of this world was expanding at our feet._

The song ended the second they broke the kiss.

Yuma's friends, especially the girls, oohed and gaped at them. The green haired girl clapped her hands joyfully. "Kite finally found someone that can soften him a bit!"

Due touched her lips and glanced at Kite. She laughed. She had stained his lips red.

He didn't know and gave her a look. She pointed to his mouth. Soon he smiled a bit. She guessed they would be the scarlet-lipped couple.

Quinton took notice of them. He glared at Kite and backed him into a corner. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Christopher?"

"I asked you a question, Kite Tenjo." Nothing but pure hatred was etched into his face. Blue tendrils floated around his white pants as he moved forward.

"Calm down, brother. We were just talking. We're friends after all. It's a mission of mine to be his friend," she explained, dropping as many hints as possible.

"I am sorry. I did not realize. Would you mind leaving us alone for a bit? We need to speak about adult things."

She turned away in a huff. "You're three years older than me. I'm seventeen, and you treat me like I'm nine," she complained under her breath.

But she couldn't deny the kiss had certainly made everything feel much better. Perhaps a party was what she needed. Maybe her heart could fill the empty space with an ever-blooming love.

 **Kite POV**

"We have a lot to talk about, do we not?" he broke the silence with. "You collect numbers now?"

I brushed a strand of dark aqua hair out of my eyes. "Yes. So? Do you have a problem?"

"What is your relationship with my sister?"

Now I'd have to be nice to him since he's Due's sister. Wonderful.

"We're acquaintances. Not much more," I huffed inconspicuously.

"I wish you luck in the semifinals. You will need it."

I grabbed the collar of his shirt, forcing him into a corner. In retaliation, he maturely pried my fingers off.

"Now, Kite. This isn't like you," he said.

What right did he have to say that? I wasn't who I was five years ago.

"Don't you have any loyalty to your former pupils? How could you let anything happen to my brother Hart? Explain yourself! You owe me that!

He forced my arms to my side. "My siblings and I simply do as Vetrix wishes."

"Vetrix? Who is he anyway?" I questioned, remembering how Due had told me about him once.

"You'll meet him soon enough." he answered mysteriously.

"You mean he's in the semifinals?

His answer was pure silence. And that got me more mad.

"What're you staring at?"

He closed his eyes and gently placed his hands on my shoulders.

"I sensed it earlier, but now I can even feel it. You're not well, are you? You should be careful, whom you challenge."

With that he walked off to dissipate n the immense celebration.

I grimaced. His warning made sense. However, he was not my doctor. He was my duel tutor. And I didn't need to heed his warning. I understood he owned a number thanks to Due. That card would soon be mine. There was no avoiding his fate.

Just because I loved Due did not mean I cared any bit for her father or brothers. In fact, the evil she was forced to perform fueled my anger to impossible levels.


	15. Chapter 15: A Revelry in Tatters

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC. Quattro's outfit is based off Galctic Pretty Boy's design from the anime Star Driver.

Shout out to Marume Chiisa and trey archlight for the reviews! They really make my day. :)

Chapter Fifteen: A Revelry in Tatters

 **Due POV**

Since her brother forced her away from her date, she might as well go socialize.

Yuma had a big grin. "Hi, Due!"

Nope. No way in Barianworld would she talk to those mediocre duelists.

And for that matter, why were they so friendly? Shouldn't they hate her after seeing her duel twice?

But…what if she somehow met up with Maxwell?

She had no choice but to spend time with them.

"Hey! How's the party so far?" Yuma gave her two thumbs up.

She brushed her ponytail off her shoulder. "It's alright. Why so friendly?"

"Everyone I duel is my friend! Ha!"

She made a face. "That's idiotic. What would you ever gain from that? Everyone I duel hates me, and I hate them back."

His green friend held out her hand. "I don't completely trust you, but my name's Kotori Meadows. Tori for short."

"You! You're that jerk's sister!" spat the blue nerd, Caswell.

They ignored him.

The chubby one, Bronk, blushed. "I got this for you," he said as he pulled a smashed white rose from his pocket.

She took it. "Thanks. It's–uh–pretty?"

Poor him. She hoped he didn't see her kiss Kite.

A grey cat girl she did not recognize waved shyly. "I'm Cat."

Yuma suddenly became very serious. "How is Trey?"

The hole in her heart opened again.

"You killed him," she responded icily.

Before he could answer, the lights flickered out one by one.

A giant Heartland hologram towered above them with a ginormous smile.

The litterbots began to play a song. she shuddered internally.

Her eyes flicked to where everyone was looking. It was a blue door. When it opened, out came a blinding light and Mr. Heartland. How ironic.

Another one of his holograms appeared, making a pink heart with his hands. "Are you ready? Make some noise!"

The crowd obeyed, and the hearts above their heads began to glitter.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome one and all to Heartland! Are ya ready to get this party started?"

Yuma smiled. Due could tell he sure was.

"As you all know, the World Duel Carnival finals start tomorrow! So, without further ado, meet our twenty-five finalists! First is—"

He grimaced as he suffered the same fate as the lights. And then a noise she recognized so well inhabited the ballroom. Yuma turned to her, confused. "Wh-What's going on?"

Two spotlights turned on and moved to light Vetrix.

He raised his arms to part the crowd. A wave of his gloved hands silenced them. His slightly heeled shoes clicked on the pink tiled floor as he moved. The lights followed him as he waddled over the lacy red carpet. He laughed at the frightened expressions on the guest's faces.

"Hmm. Nice cake. Looks delicious!"

What was he doing? Did Quattro and Quinton know? Where were they?

He continued waddling until he reached the stairs. He crawled up as a small child would to play a game. He looked up at Heartland with mock joy.

"Who…who are you?"

"You mean me? The name is Vetrix!"

"Vetrix," Yuma repeated.

"Heartland," he said, sitting on his knees.

The taller man laughed in a nervous way. He bent on one knee to greet the supposed child's face. "Yes, that's me. We've been expecting you, Vetrix."

"And you can expect this. I will crush all the finalists…and I'm a man of my word."

Heartland shivered in obvious discomfort. Vetrix ran to the end of the stage like a little boy pretending to fly. He grabbed the railing and lifted himself off the ground. Another cackle escaped his half-masked mouth.

"Such a lovely party! I look forward to getting to know all of you better!" He kicked his legs as he spoke. "Or, at the very least… One of you."

Vetrix turned in the opposite direction to face an empty space by Yuma's head. "Peekaboo," he whispered. "I see you."

Who was he looking at? Could she view the invisible person with her Crest?

She gathered her concentration and focused on the spot. An alien power radiated off it. It came more into focus. Why was a Astral being on Earth? Was he the mysterious power she encountered the night of Hart's kidnapping? It felt like a millennia had passed since then. But then again, her latest memories had been of her doing the same for repeated amounts of time. Crying over a dead body.

Maniacal laughing took hold once more. The two spotlights moved to opposite sides of the ballroom and shut off, enveloping everything in darkness. She could hear screams. By the time the lights turned on again, there was no sign of Vetrix.

Murmurs rang among the crowd. "What's going on? The heck just happened? You see that? This is outrageous!"

In the corner of her eye, she could see Kite bite his lip. And strangely, Quinton and Quattro were missing. Maybe they had left early. Well, if they had left, than so would she.

But she had to talk to him a bit more. Her brother had cut their romantic moment short.

She touched his arm. "Kite? Can I talk to you? Outside?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

She pulled her arms behind her back. "I know something about the boy who interrupted Heartland's show."

 **Kite POV**

"His name is Vetrix Arclight. And he's my father," she added emotionlessly.

What? But how old was she?

"He hates your father with a passion. As do I and my brothers." Her fists trembled as the singed memories returned. "It's thanks to him my life is ruined! And his death is the only thing that could possibly satisfy us!" She began to yell at me.

I kissed her forehead.

She sniffed. "Great. I thought I was done with crying for tonight. Oh yeah. I was also supposed to have been married off to Maxwell Pegasus. But I left the arranged marriage for someone much better. Heh."

I raised a blonde eyebrow. "How old is Vetrix, exactly?"

She laughed, a beautiful and frightening sound that reminded me a bit of his entrance. Genetics worked in the strangest ways. As a man of science, I understood this well.

"He's in his early fifties."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's the power of inter-dimensional magic."

She took her hair and made it a clock. "My. It would seem that it is time for me to return home. Maybe Quinton'll explain it to you later."

She summoned a portal to leave. And as she faded away, I wondered why fate had chosen what it had.

From outside I could see the party falling apart. Good thing I had left before it had been crashed.

 **Quattro POV**

I signed autograph after autograph for my adoring fans. Strangely, the only ones flocking me were girls. Maybe it was the clothes. What girl swoon at me in a high-collared white-blue dress shirt-coat thing with golden embellishments decorating my shoulders? Not to mention the princely white gloves and deep scarlet boots? I smiled at a particularly pretty brunette girl.

"Okay, which one of you lovely ladies is next?" I asked.

Those words sent them to another level of fangirlism.

I signed three more notepads.

 _Quattro Arclight_

"When it comes to signing autographs, your wish is my command!" I smiled.

I casually glanced out the window I was standing by. Shark had his arms crossed as he leaned against a tree. He wouldn't get away from me this easily. He wouldn't replace me. He wouldn't be the one to get rid of Faker. Throwing back my arm, I pushed the girls away. They gasped at the sudden change in mood. One bust into tears when she tumbled to the ground, staining her dress with a nearby punch bowl in a feeble attempt to steady herself.

"Outta the way! Move, people!"

I rushed down the red carpeted stairs. Angrily I turned to face him.

"Shark!" I spat, the name foul on my tongue.

He dismissively looked over his shoulder. "Quattro. I figured you'd be inside signing autographs for your little fan club."

I couldn't argue. I had just been doing exactly that. I responded with not much more than an angry nonsensical word.

"Enjoy it while you can, because soon, I'll make sure your fans find out that you're just a phony feeding them lies," he jabbed.

How could this kid be better than me? How was he the one to exact revenge on Faker when he had nothing to do with him? The worst part was that I had no rebuttal. So I used my new favorite angry word.

"Rgh!"

If he said much more, I don't think his health would be in good condition. My anger came in waves, making ripples in the pool of water I stood by.

Shark grunted, turned in the opposite direction, and walked away with a mock good luck wink.

"Shark! Don't ignore me!" I lunged towards him.

"I'm sorry. I thought I was talking to an animal. Not even smart enough to defend itself when insulted."

And it was with that he jumped upon his ridiculous motorcycle. There was no point in staying, so I formed an overlay portal to return home. After all, any place is better than here.


	16. Chapter 16: The Ride of Your Life

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Sixteen: The Ride of Your Life

 **Due POV**

Due glanced ahead of her. A ginormous grassy arena awaited her. Thousands of spectators sat in the stands. Soft sighs floated over her as Quattro and Shark entered. It was no surprise; they had lots of female fans.

She gathered her courage and walked into the cheers and confetti rain. She smiled when the screams crescendoed. Supposedly, she was very popular among the viewers. She pirouetted, waved, and made the cutest face she could muster. Smiles greeted her.

Mr. Heartland floated around the mass of people. His signature giant hologram appeared as he spoke. "Hello, dueling fans! Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the World Duel Carnival semifinals! We'll start with the sky skate section. The duels will be held all across the city, with the aid of the duel coaster!

He gestured to the maze of tracks ahead of him. He turned to the crowd once more.

"It's the moment you duel devotees have been waiting for! Our twenty-five semifinalists are ready to use all their knowledge and skills, in the ultimate test of dueling agility! Now, the moment we've all been waiting for is here! Finalists, take your places in the coaster cars!"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Quinton and Kite jumping in their selected cars.

Maxwell had chosen a white car. He activated his duel disk, a reference to the original duel disks. A golden duel gazer tattoo in the shape of Maximillian Pegasus glittered onto his right eye, changing it from violet to gold. He brushed his neatly cut shoulder-length silver-blue hair out of his eyes. The golden eye winked at her.

Sickening. It was thanks to him she collected rare cards not made by Pegasus Corporation and instead the ones that SchroederCorp had begun to make twenty years ago.

She activated her duel disk as well. Others did the same.

"And now, it's time to put all the Duel Coaster cars into gear! The heart piece you collected from your previous duels will act as the ignition key for your individual coaster car. Just place it in the ignition pad, and you'll be ready to roll!"

She crossed her eyes. He had to realize that Vetrix was the youngest duelist (theoretically), and know that not even he wanted to be pelted with ridiculous childish catchphrases.

She did as he told regardless.

"Showtime, everyone! The greatest duel of all time will now get underway! Begin on my mark!"

Hearts clicked.

"Five!"

She winked at the spectators.

"Four!"

Kite's robot rushed to join him.

"Three! Two!"

She readied to start.

"One!"

All but one car sped off to begin dueling. The speed they were moving at kind of sickened her, though. As a small child she had tried riding a roller coaster. After the experience she decided she hated it. If someone asked her if she had a phobia, that would be it.

She pulled on the brakes, trying to move as slowly as possible. She noted that Maxwell had done the same. He probably didn't want to mess up his perfect hair. He was rather fond of it, after all.

However, it would be a waste of a much more epic duel if she fought him now. She veered left. The blue screen by the brakes indicated an action spell nearby. And Shadow Ribbon would be very useful in the future. It would allow her to summon two Level Seven monsters from her hand.

"Hey you!" yelled a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and a thick American accent. "I play Patriotic Soldier in attack mode!"

She looked cross-eyed at the girl. "Alrighty, then. My turn now, no?"

"Yup."

"I activate the spell Shadow Ribbon. It allows me to summon two Level Seven monsters. However, their effects are negated for two turns. But that won't be a problem. I summon Shadow Bender and Shadow Lion. I overlay them to summon Number 42: Shadow Gimmick Puppet Stringcutter! I activate the spell Shadow Destruction to send one card with one hundred attack points to my Graveyard. I detach one overlay unit to reduce your life points to that. I detach another to deal you the amount of defense points your monster has as damage!"

She watched her life points drop to zero. Her car seat undid itself and sent her flying.

Well, that was one thing Due did not want to experience.

Vetrix met her not long after. "You create a one-hit-defeat. Interesting strategy!" He laughed as he sped away to speak with Quinton.

A dark ginormous cave awaited them. She smiled. Darkness was where she felt strongest.

With little else to think about, she flashed back to her childhood. She often did this to remind herself what she fought for when things were tough.

 _"Christopher?" six-year-old Isla said, tugging on her sleeves._

 _He turned his head, a silver-blue braid tied neatly on his left shoulder and a three-year-old Michael on his right. "What is it, Isla?"_

 _She leaned toward him slightly. "I want you to teach me how to duel!"_

 _"Duel? Aren't you a bit young?" he laughed, surprised._

 _Thomas came running at full speed, crashing into the long white glass table. "Did someone say duel? I wanna learn too! Not fair if only she gets to learn how!" he complained, pulling leaves from his hair. "Besides, how else am I going to be the next Asia champion?"_

 _She placed her hands on her hips and sat on the golden carpet, magenta ruffles drowning her small feet._

 _"Alright. But you'd better learn quick. How else will you surprise Father with your soon to be world-famous skills?"_

 _Michael sneezed. He wiped his bright green eyes with his tiny fists. "Bwother! Me thwee! Me thwee!"_

 _Chris crossed his eyes. "Oh my. Another champion has woken from his great_ slumber."

 _This caused all his younger siblings to laugh aloud. "Do that 'gain Chwis!"_

 _He obliged, and fits of laughter took over all four of them._

She smiled. Oh, the things that had changed since then. Technically, they had gotten what they had wanted. Quattro the champion of Asia and Due a world-famous duelist. But those were pedestals of lies. What use was it to elevate yourself on a false victory?

"The duelists are now entering the all-dangerous duel cave! They'd better watch out for action traps! Here we have multiple fields where they'll duel. There's the Jungle field, the Desert field, the Space field, the Fairy Tale field, and the Magma field. Which fields will our remaining duelists fight on?"

Each field appeared as a clickable link on the hologram tablet. What would be of the greatest value to her? The Magma and Desert fields would be useless. The Space field should be left for Quinton. That left the Jungle and Fairy Tale field. Maxwell had a strategy that would be very unsuitable for the Jungle field, which left the Fairy Tale field. If she dueled there against Maxwell, she'd be at a great disadvantage. But it would be much more entertaining to the audience to defeat him at his own game.

She grabbed the wheel and turned left. She was heading straight toward her victory.

 **Kite POV**

"Orbital, where is Vetrix?" I asked my robot, too lazy to look for his number myself.

"H-he's headed for the De-de-desert field!" he replied.

Hmm. What could his strategy be? Leading me to the Desert field?

"Kite. Don't go after Vetrix."

"What?" I turned to face who had said that.

Dextra. Of course.

"I'll defeat him before you can. He's not an opponent you should overlook."

I moved my eyes back to the road ahead. "I understand that."

Her eyelashes had a faint mist on them. "I swore to protect you. This is how I'll pull that off."

"And?"

"I know what I'm doing. Just trust me."

She sped off to greet the masked duelist.

 **Quattro POV**

I gave Shark a mischievous smile. "If you want to duel me, you've got to catch me! Ha!"

He lowered his eyebrows more than I thought possible. "Fine, Quattro. Whatever I need to do get rid of you!"

I turned sharply to move to the Magma field. There he'd be at a severe disadvantage. The climate would be far too harsh for any of his monsters. He wouldn't last two turns.

I glided past multiple duelists, eyes on where I needed to get to.

Due moved by. I wanted to ask her about if the headache I had earlier had been caused by her using our number without me aiding in the summoning of it.

Before I could ask, she turned to the Fairy Tale field.

She obviously had to get rid of Maxwell somehow. But of all the fields…What was she planning?


	17. Chapter 17: A Fairy Story Gone Wrong

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

Chapter Seventeen: A Fairy Story Gone Wrong

 **Due POV**

"Well, Maxwell. I see that you're here, so we may as well get on with it."

"Isla. My how you've changed in eight years. Isn't that how long you've been running for?"

Due's hands closed into fists. "At least I'm not a rich brat who spends all day coming up with cheap cards to produce!"

He leaned forward slightly, just enough to make her bend her knees a little. "At least I'm not afraid of you. But I guess that makes sense. Wives should expect to cower behind their husbands."

He had always been a bit like this, but had he ever gone that far?

"What the heck? Let's just duel already!"

He smiled, his too-perfect white teeth gleaming in the bright rays of the field's sun. "Alright then. Meet my little friend, Fairytale Evil Queen!"

"Your turn over now? I play the spell Shadow Thief! It takes half the level of a monster and special summons itself with that many attack points times one hundred. Beat that!"

The Queen gasped in a queenly way as she stared upon a monster with a hundred more attack points than herself. She turned her head away and grunted femininely, unrealistically curly blue fringes bouncing under her shoulders.

"You know, Isla—"

"Not Isla, jerk! It's Due now!" she interrupted. "I set two cards and end my turn!"

Yuma and his green girlfriend arrived just in time for spectating. "Hey Tori! Due's dueling Maxwell!"

"Yuma, you're forgetting that she hates us!"

He shrugged. "So? We'll just support Maxwell instead!"

"What! But he's… Never mind. I don't need you amateurs' support." She blew hair out of he face.

"Ha! Wait, huh?" He looked utterly confused.

"You're so stupid! You can't even tell when I'm insulting your stupidity!"

Maxwell brushed his pale silvery blue hair behind his shoulders. "I thought this was a duel? I'll return you back to it by activating the trap Fairytale Traveler! When an opponent changes my monster's level, I can multiply its attack points by the number of Levels changed! I'll end my turn with a facedown."

Hmph. Well if that was how he wanted to play…

"Shadow Thief, attack Fairytale Evil Queen!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you gone mad? My Queen has four hundred more attack points than your Thief."

"That may be, but by banishing one of my facedowns, Shadow Duchess, to the graveyard, I can negate all battle damage and deal it to you instead. However, my monster is still destroyed."

" _You're smart for a girl,_ " he said under his breath as he lost three hundred life points. "Alright, then. Fairytale Evil Queen, attack Isla directly!"

"I heard that. So here's a little more smartness for you! I activate the trap Shadow Rebellion! When I am attacked directly, this divides the battle damage between the two of us!"

She closed her eyes slowly as a burst of wind swept her off her feet. She landed hard on the platform she stood on, shattering the orange and yellow grass. The glittering shards caught in her skin and hair. Small dots of holographic blood dripped from where she had been "cut." Lucky it was all a hologram.

He pulled his long thin fingers through his hair. His lips bent downward. "Anything else?"

"Yep! I'll play the card I drew facedown as well. Now it's your turn," she said, smiling.

He drew a card and smiled. "It seems the tables have turned. I summon Level Two Fairytale Knight! With my two monsters, I now shall build an overlay network!" As he spoke, a pinkish aura enveloped him. "Rise from the gates of Hell itself! Aid me, Number 53: Fairytale Author!"

He screamed in agony. His hair floated a bit, just enough to reveal a luminescent gold 53 etched into the side of neck.

 **Maxwell POV**

 _Good, my boy. Now use my powers to kill her. She rejected your marriage and deserves to die._

 _That's right. I should listen to the wise spirit…_

"Isla? Might this little scrap of paper be bothering you?" Maxwell waved the card under her nose.

"So what if you've got a number? Just means I'll get the pleasure of ripping your soul from your chest! Our relationship was nothing but political!" She returned.

Her eyes widened as his cold lips met her forehead. Raising an arm she slapped him with as much power as she could muster.

" _Why you little_ —"

He clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'd prefer you dismiss any kind of violence, my sweet. The children are here, so I must restrain you from such vulgar things."

"Tori! He's got a number! And he's dueling Due! But that means…"

"You'll have to duel her, too. Nice going, Yuma," she finished.

He turned to face them, a slightly mad look in his eyes. "And you! Joyeux anniversaire!"

Tori and Yuma glanced at their feet, black smoke enveloping their legs. The cloud carried them high above the ground. Well, the supposed ground. Thanks to the field, they were walking on air.

"Isla. We do need to quit stalling. It is your turn, after all," he said, still caressing his cheek. She did give the most painful slaps.

"Fine. I activate my other facedown, Shadow Resistance. This allows me to draw a card per overlay unit my opponent has. You have two, so I'll draw two cards. And if they're both monster cards of the same level, I can add two hundred attack points to each!" She drew twice, arms extending gracefully as she did. Her long needle-like fingers curled around the cards. "What do you know? I drew Level Seven Shadow Seamstress and Level Seven Shadowbender! Might as well overlay them, no? Here's one of my personal favorites. Number 22: Angel of Darkness!"

He laughed, a sinister sound. "Feeble attempt. There's no way she'd ever be able to defeat my Author, because by detaching one overlay unit, I can negate any monster effect."

She stumbled back. Her amber and aquamarine eyes widened in shock.

He threw his arms back, cackling as she declared an attack. His face changed from young businessman to evil sociopath. His already too-small irises shrank more than seemingly possible.

 _She's so fearful, she's lost her mind! Why don't you end her suffering? I sense other numbers. Winning will grant you more power. YES! LET THE NUMBER TAKE HOLD OF YOUR VERY SOUL!_

"I activate the Equip Spell, Solidified Shadow! With this the attack points of my monster triple. All I have to do is reduce my life points to 1500! For Trey, and my family as a whole!" She smiled grimly as shadowy clawed hands reached for her heart and wrapped around her upper body.

"We shall see if this sacrifice was of any worth. How you have made it this far with a sacrifice-themed deck does pique my curiosity. The only answer is that everyone you dueled was mediocre!" Maxwell insulted.

And then it hit him. With 2000 life points left, he would have only fifty after this. He had no counterattack.

The blow left him speechless. He was going to lose.

"I activate a trap, Fairytale Regain. If I draw a spell card, I can regain the life points I lost! But if I draw anything else, I take 50 damage. Thanks to this field, all Fairytale spells are doubled in power. Draw!"

He looked at his hand. In it was Fairytale Prince. He had lost.

A great light came from the card and fell upon him in a shower of lighting. His life reduced to zero.

The last thing he saw was Due lifting her left hand. The last he felt was an unstoppable pain. And the tears that brimmed her eyes were impossibly gold.


	18. Chapter 18: Portal of Doom

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

 **A/N This chapter was so hard to write! I've been working on it since I posted the story itself!**

Chapter Eighteen: Portal of Doom

 **Due POV**

Due brushed away her tears. She let the gold run through her fingers. Heh. Guess the Destruction of the of the her own creations took a bit of her soul too.

It was probably worth it. They didn't want to chance anything, and government helicopters were pretty suspicious.

Now that she had dueled, where was she to go? Home? That seemed like the best place to go to. Besides, she had no purpose here. Why go where you weren't needed?

The abandoned hotel was strangely empty. She couldn't even hear Vetrix watching his cartoons. Nothing moved, either. Not even Trey with his—

That's right. He's dead.

An irrevocable silence overtook her. She could visit him. Maybe he'd hear her despite his soullessness. When he died, she never truly got to say goodbye or state how much she loved him. Perhaps now she could.

He lay in the same position he had been in the last time she left. Emerald eyes still closed. Hair still bedraggled around his head. Entirely unmoving.

She brushed her fingers along his cold face, regretting all the times she ignored him thanks to an assignment. Her lips parted, unsure of what to say. It came to mind, and like a waterfall they rushed out.

"Trey—no—Michael, you are the kindest, bravest, most goodhearted brother I could ever have. I understand your sacrifice, and I know why you did it. I wish Father, and Chris and Thomas, too, felt the same. I'll remind them what you did. It's okay to be afraid. I am, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But just know that one day, one day, this will all be over. I love you, and I know deep down everyone else does too. I know you don't truly hunger for revenge. Neither do I. This fate that had been thrown upon you is not the right one. I'm going to bring you back if it kills me in the process!" Her voice caught on the last sentence. "Just know that. Because…because…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

On his lap she collapsed, the moisture from her eyes turning the thick white and pink blankets gold. Gold with loss. Gold with regret. More gold than the roses of King Midas.

The strings, the strings! She could see them now, so close to fulfilling her end of the bargain with the Barian Empress. Strings on her fingers. Strings on her arms. Strings on her very soul. All connected to one great puppetmaster playing around with all people's lives.

She could not focus on this. She had a mission, and she did not intend to fail it. All her life she let her mind guide her. Why not give her heart a chance?

 **Kite POV**

"At last! I knew you and I would face each other in battle someday, Kite. Ever since I learned the truth about your family and mine, I've been filled with a desire to get revenge! I swore that nothing would stop me from settling the score! Nothing, Kite." His silver hair swayed as he materialized on the coral-colored tiles.

"You're gonna regret what you did to Hart! I'll make sure of that!" I clenched my fists angrily.

Together they rose and said in unison, "Now let's duel!"

"I'll go first! Get set! I draw! I summon Planet Pathfinder! Next up, I summon Solar Wind Jammer in attack mode! I'm allowed to summon this monster by cutting its attack points in half. Next, I'll give both monsters an upgrade by activating my Tannhauser Gate spell. Now my monsters combine their levels. My monsters are level four and five, Kite; that means they'll both become level nine monsters!

I braced myself. "I can guess what's coming next."

"Hmm. I doubt it. I overlay my level nine Pathfinder and Wind Jammer in order to build the overlay network! I Xyz summon Number Nine: Dyson Sphere!

"This is his number…"

I glanced around, looking for the number. I narrowed my eyes when I was unable to find anything.

"Where is your Number, Quinton?"

He smiled grimly. "You will discover that soon enough, I promise! In the meantime, since I Xyz summoned, this space field's effect kicks in. It allows me to draw one card!" He glanced at the card he had drawn. "I'll place a card facedown, and end my turn.

I grunted angrily. "Ugh…that Number! Must be somewhere!"

Quinton raised an eyebrow. "It's your turn. You're looking a little worried, Kite. What's wrong?

"Nothing. I draw! Here goes! I summon, Photon Delta Wing! Photon Delta Wing, attack Dyson Sphere! Photon Fury!"

"That was useless. Your attack couldn't possibly do any damage!"

"How could that be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know! Too bad this'll be over before you have answers!"

"I draw! Now I'll attack your Photon Delta Wing with my Dyson Sphere!"

"What?" I stumbled back and struggled to regain my balance.

The attack was successful and sent him flying. I landed on my back and stirred a cloud of holographic dust.

"How did you do that?" It was curious, an invisible monster.

He smiled deviously again. "You wouldn't understand. Just accept it. I have you hopelessly outmatched, and you're going to lose."

"What are they…You have got to be joking," I said flatly when the screams of two amateurs reached my ears.

Yuma, Tori and Orbital lay in a pile on the coral tile. Give it to them to arrive like that.

Orbital caressed its robotic head. "Ohh…"

Tori sat up angrily. "Ugh…next time, I'll do the driving."

That did raise a question, though. Why was she here, anyway?

The white robot rushed to its owner. "Master Kite! What a relief to see you're-you're safe!"

I glared at Yuma.

He twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Listen, Kite…I have something important to tell you."

"Really." I raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's about Dextra. She was in a duel."

I frowned.

"Against Vetrix. She was defeated."

It can't be. How could he have beat her?

"I saw it. Dextra was trying to stand up for you."

So she might've died failing to protect me.

"But Vetrix was too strong. It's clear that she really cares about you."

Coldly I lifted my head. "I couldn't care less," I lied.

Yuma stumbled back, clearly appalled by the answer. "Ah…! You can't mean that!"

"Ohh, Master K-k-kite…"

I said nothing. Hatefully Yuma snagged the collar of my jacket, dragging me to his height. "Argh! She did everything to try and protect you!

As he let go, Quinton decided to finally speak. "So, it's Yuma Tsukumo!"

"Huh?"

"The son of Kazuma Tsukumo."

"It's you."

"It's fitting that the three of us should meet now. Destiny has clearly brought us together."

"Ugh, I want some answers from you! Listen, tell me where my father is!" the young duelist shouted.

He nodded. "All right. Before Kite and I resume, I'll tell you everything I know about your father."

"I wanna duel now; you can share your story some other time! Are we gonna continue to battle, or not! Besides, Due's probably already told me about it!" I interrupted.

"Due…ugh. It can wait. The story that I'm about to tell concerns you as well. Perhaps it will help all of you understand my family's actions. Why we came here to compete in the Duel Carnival. And why we targeted you and your brother Hart. The answer is that you are linked to our real enemy. We seek revenge against your father, Doctor Faker!"

"Huh? Doctor Faker is their father?"

"The same guy who built up Heartland?"

Was it really that hard to figure out?

"It began five years ago. Back then, Dr. Faker and my father, Byron Arclight, were working together on experiments, in search of a door that could lead to other worlds."

 **Quinton POV**

 _Dr. Faker busily clicked at the computer. He tiredly placed a hand on his forehead and fingered his wild blonde hair, making it look even more ridiculous than normal._

 _"Egh…the twenty-one anomalies I detected should lead me to the location! But it isn't working! It seems there's something missing in my calculations!_

 _Hopelessly he slammed his hands on the keyboard. The impact made the keys flash red. He yanked at his hair and stared at the blonde strands between his bony fingers. "It's driving me mad!_

 _Father reassuringly patted his shoulder and smiled. "Dr. Faker, please have a cup of tea and try to relax._

 _He held the cup of tea like a peace offering. He nodded, brushing stray grey-blonde hairs off his minty-coated shoulder. Faker rose from his chair and slapped his arm away. He watched the brownish liquid spill from the shattered porcelain teacup and stain the white carpet._

 _"There isn't any time to relax Arclight, I have to open that portal before it's too late!"_

 _He frowned momentarily and smiled again. "Doctor... don't forget, there is someone else looking for the portal who might be able to help us. Hey, Chris!"_

 _I tuned to face him with a small grin. I was happy to be such an important part of their work._

 _"Bring up the file we discussed!" he commanded nonchalantly._

 _"Yes. Sure, father, one second." I clicked on the file in which he had told me of earlier._

 _"If anyone can help us, it's this man. One of the world's most daring adventurers, Kazuma Tsukumo!"_

 _Kazuma gazed out to experience the sunset at its fullest. "What an incredible view... and I have it all to myself." He laughed merrily to himself, propping up his chin with his elbows on the golden railing._

 _"There's no one else around for at least a hundred miles."_

 _At that exact moment he was greeted by bright city lights from a Heartland City helicopter. "Of course, I could be wrong."_

 _The automatic door opened, revealing the man we so desperately needed. I stood shyly in the corner, silently observing the situation and ready to jump in if necessary._

 _"Whoa! Quite the impressive layout you've got here!" I was glad we had a good first impression, at least._

 _Father shook his hand firmly. "Welcome."_

 _Dr. Faker was back at his computer again, mercilessly banging upon the keys. He turned around and sighed, shutting the laptop._

 _"I'm sorry to have interrupted your trip so suddenly, Kazuma Tsukumo; but I'm glad you came," Father continued. "I'm Byron Arclight, and it is an honor to meet you."_

 _Kazuma glanced at the pricey computers. Money was no issue for either of them, so they had access to the most expensive and high-tech technology. "These are the most advanced gravitational wave scans I've ever seen!"_

 _Faker nodded for a second and then shook his head. "But they're not advanced enough! I've tried every possible technology, but still can't find the interdimensional portal! It must exist! I'm sure of it! But there's something we're missing!"_

 _"Kazuma, you've been looking for the portal, too. Would you be willing to share your research with us?" Father asked._

 _The explorer turned to Faker. "If we succeed, it will change the course of human history! You will become famous, and rich beyond your wildest dreams."_

 _Faker made a face and quit typing. Pushing back his chair, he rose. "Money and fame? They're of no interest to me! Besides, why obtain that when I already have it? All I care about is locating that interdimensional portal!"_

 _That answer brought a grin to his middle-aged face. "Hm. In that case, we can work together."_

 _My father grinned. "That was a test... wasn't it?"_

 _Kazuma nodded and added, "The living for adventure and the thrill of discovery are all I care about."_

 _He wrapped his arm around the slightly younger man. "I'd say we've found the right partner."_

 _"Take a look at this," Faker commanded. Both men moved to look a the holographic globe he had summoned with the wave of his arm. "Arclight and I have detected abnormal gravity readings at twenty-one different locations around the globe. We believe these readings indicate where the interdimensional portal has emerged in the past."_

 _The blue globe spun slowly. Upon it were many red dots. There was one on China, another New Zealand, two in South America, more in Africa, yet another in the Indian Ocean, and even one in North America._

 _"By analyzing this data, we were hoping to predict where the portal will next appear!" the blonde scientist continued._

 _"So you based your prediction on this data?" Kazuma questioned._

 _He nodded. "Yes, the calculation is quite complicated." His hands moved back to his forehead. "I almost have it solved! But there's one piece missing."_

 _"No. You're missing two pieces," Kazuma corrected. "Your observations are incomplete, doctor."_

 _He walked into the globe and spread his arms out. We all gasped as we realized what he meant._

 _"Some observations can only be made outside a laboratory. I found two more locations on my expeditions. There are twenty-three data points!"_

 _It did make sense, considering what a adventurer he was._

 _Faker tapped his lip in questioningly. "Huh! Then that's why my calculations have been off!"_

 _"Right. Do your math over and you should have no trouble locating the portal."_

 _"Kazuma was right. With the additional data he supplied, Doctor Faker reworked his calculations. He soon identified the location where the portal would appear next. We raced there as quickly as we could."_

 _All three men wore hiking clothes. I, however, was not as I was only there to see them off. I was an important part of their research, after all._

 _I joined them in their sunset gazing. I could feel the crimson and tangerine light washing upon us and the land. At that moment, I felt peace in my heart. Who would have known that it would all go to hell a few hours later?_

 _Kazuma wiped excitement-and-heat-borne sweat from his shaded forehead. "Reaching that portal won't be easy. We have a challenging trek before us, my friends."_

 _It was in that place Father said his last words to me as Byron Arclight. "You'd better stay here, Chris. I'll go on with Doctor Faker and Kazuma."_

 _"Good luck," I smiled._

"That was the last time I saw all of them together. But I know what happened after they left me. When I finally saw my father again, he told me everything."

 _They continued through the seemingly endless greenery. The plants curved as though to bite at them. Kazuma swore one tried to steal his hat twice._

 _The flowers were strange, too. At first, the only ones were tall and blue. But after a strange patch of dead flowers and undergrowth came curly mint flytraps of impossible size._

 _"Following Doctor Faker's calculations, and with Kazuma guiding the group, they pressed onward."_

 _Father and Kazuma sat by the campfire they had made. The flames danced in the fierce wind and yet glowed just as strongly. Multiple times he removed his monocle to clean steam from it._

 _"Kazuma... what if after all this effort, we arrive at the location and there is no portal?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice._

 _He shrugged. "Even if we fail in our quest, it will be worth the effort. Anyway, the most important thing is that we never give up, and keep feeling the flow."_

 _"'Feeling the flow?'"_

 _From his pocket he produced a photograph. A small boy with hair just like his father and a face of his mother held three cards. A ginormous smile inhabited his face. His older sister and grandmother laughed behind him._

 _"It's something I tell my son, so that he never gives up."_

 _"That's your family, Kazuma?"_

 _"Yes." He pointed to the little boy. "My son Yuma is really into dueling."_

 _Father perked up at those words. "Mine, too! I have three sons and a daughter myself, and dueling means everything to them."_

 _He directed his eyes towards an illuminated tent._

 _"Dr. Faker also has sons. Two of them."_

 _"Do you know why he's so obsessed with finding that interdimensional portal?" he wondered aloud._

 _"I'm not sure. But if anyone can locate it, he can. Dr. Faker is a true genius."_

"Three days later, the group finally arrived at the location."

 _Gently they pressed open the weathered stone door. The three explorers held flashlights up to illuminate the darkened chamber. Rock eroded away when they stepped on it. The little bits fell and fell. Never did any make a noise indicating they had landed._

 _Father broke the silence. "Gentlemen, I think we've found what we're seeking."_

 _"Arclight, look here!"_

 _Faker moved his flashlight to light up the ceiling. On it were three symbols. The first was a sun, the second a blue rose, and the third a burst light flower. He indicated the blue rune._

 _"I saw this rune in my research! It's true! We've found the portal! Success at last! And now we just have to open it. Let's hurry."_

 _Not five seconds after he said that the platform he stood on turned red. The doors slammed shut, and a large stone block fell towards right where he was standing. Kazuma pushed him out of the way. "Watch out!"_

 _Father dashed forward to attempt to find them amidst all the dust and rubble. "Dr. Faker! Kazuma!" Kazuma's voice rang from nowhere. "Don't move!"_

 _They were both entirely safe. The dust cloud had hidden them._

 _"Listen, Byron! We have to proceed carefully! This whole location must be filled with traps. Whoever built this place didn't want trespassers. If you want to leave here in one piece, I suggest you watch your step."_

 _They continued walking through the temple until they met a dead end. Faker backed up off the pillar, leaving the other two on it._

 _"Looks like we've reached a dead end," Father noted._

 _"That's strange," said Kazuma, very confused. "Maybe we took a wrong turn?"_

 _"Should we go back?"_

 _Kazuma took one step backwards. A tile sank under his foot and glowed red. He cursed under his breath. The red glow rose, angled down, and froze them in place._

 _"What's this?"_

 _The red light popped and sent waves of shocks. Both men were forced to their knees._

 _Faker's traitorous voice explained what was happening. "Gentlemen, the time has finally come."_

 _"Dr. Faker...?"_

 _Otherworldly balls of light floated up from the endless chasm._

 _He hung his head. "Believe me, I regret that there is no other way."_

 _"Doctor! What's going on here?" Father demanded._

 _"The writing beneath your feet explains everything," he explained coldly. "The ancient inscription reads, 'deliver two souls for mysteries untold!'"_

 _"You planned to betray us all along, didn't you!"_

 _"I have sworn to open a passage to other worlds, and nothing will stop me!"_

 _Kazuma shook his head hopelessly. "You've lost your mind! How can you do this, doctor? How can you betray your friend?"_

 _"A friend? So what!" He shrugged off the insult._

 _Those few words crushed my father's heart. The staircase to the exit crumbled in a flourish of lightning and teardrops._

 _"All that ever mattered to me was reaching my goal! Byron was useful for a time, but now he's expendable!"_

 _The column itself shuddered and collapsed. Then they were falling. Falling from hope. Falling from life. Falling from humanity._

 _The end was near. He prayed his for his children to live good, full lives. But the second he finished his prayer, Kazuma snatched his wrist in one hand and clutched onto the rock jutting out from the collapsing wall._

 _"I've got you, Byron, just hang on!_

 _He looked away. There was only one way one of them could survive this. "Kazuma, save yourself. Let go of my hand."_

 _He shook his head grimly. "My son always tells me, when he duels with someone, then they become friends forever. It's the same for me. Anyone who goes exploring with me will always be my friend; we're in this together!"_

 _"All right," he agreed._

 _Dr. Faker interrupted their friend moment. "Enough! The portal is open! And you're both finished!"_

 _As though he had commanded it so, the rock he held onto cracked and crumbled off. The were falling again._

 _Father let his last words free as the red light enveloped him on all sides. "You'll pay for this, Faker…!_

"My father couldn't believe how Faker betrayed them," I finished coldly.

Yuma hung his head. "And that was the last anyone saw of my father."

"Yuma, one day my father did return."

Memories of his return crowded my head. I tried my best to ignore them.

"He found a way to travel through interdimensional gaps between worlds, until he reached this world again. However, there was a price. His appearance became warped until he was no longer recognizable." My voice caught on the last sentence, and I cleared my throat politely. "My father now calls himself Vetrix!"

I silenced to let them process what I had told them.

"I-I-I-I-I-I…" Kite's robot stuttered.

"I thought he was a kid!" Utter confusion covered the young duelist's face.

How strange he should think of my father a child when he himself is one, I mused mentally.

"It's all Faker's fault. He betrayed my father, and I've sworn to one day get revenge."

"This doesn't change anything. Dr. Faker means nothing to me. I only care about Hart. And getting even for what you did! Move away, Yuma! It's my turn! I draw! To start, I summon Photon Thrasher! I can bring out Thrasher when I don't have any other monsters on my field. And I'll follow that up by summoning Photon Pirate!" he explained smugly.

"When I banish a Photon monster from my graveyard, Photon Pirate gets a thousand attack points stronger. I tribute my Photon Thrasher, and my Photon Pirate!"

A red four-edged sword materialized in his gloved hands. He thrust it into the air. It flew until it reached the overlay-portal-like cloud of data.

"Here comes a monster more savage than a supernova! With the cataclysmic force of ten black holes put together, a cosmic scourge that vaporizes anything in its path!"

You're playing into my hands perfectly, Kite.

"Galaxy-Eyes! Use your three thousand attack points to pummel Number Nine!"

"Big mistake," I warned.

"We'll see! Go, Photon Stream of Destruction!"

The blast came. It stirred my long silver-blue hair, but left me completely unharmed. I waved my arm to activate Dyson Sphere's ability.

Kite looked aghast. "It failed!" he cried in anguish.

I myself glared down on him smugly. "Of course it did. To understand why, take a look at my number!"

The so-called Stream of Destruction bent around me and towards Dyson Sphere. There was a brilliant flash of light that blinded everyone but I. When it faded away, Number 9 finally moved from its hiding place.

Star-like panels extended outwards. It continued opening until it overshadowed everyone. The shady transition brought worry to all viewers..

"No way!" Yuma gasped.

"A monster bigger than the sun?" his friend finished.

However, no one was as unsettled as Kite himself. He struggled to comprehend its size and power. It shouldn't be scientifically possible.

"That's so huge. How could any monster ever destroy it? It seems impossible."

It was truly incomprehensible. "That's because it is impossible! No one has ever defeated Dyson Sphere in battle, and no one ever will!"


	19. Chapter 19: Cosmic Chaos

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or the song BRAVING, which belongs to their respective owners. All I own is my OC.

 **A/N Thank the Arclights I finished this chapter!**

Chapter Nineteen: Cosmic Chaos

 **No POV**

Kite was partially aware of his former duel tutor glaring down on him. It wasn't exactly hatred, but something very close.

"My Dyson Sphere is more magnificent than all your monsters combined," he declared. "And, it's practically invincible! Your pitiful attacks can't damage it, Kite."

"That can't be. There must be a way to destroy it." He hadn't realized he said it aloud until Quinton answered.

His small icy blue eyes narrowed. "You're wrong. As long as it has its overlay units, Dyson Sphere will be shielded from any attack."

"So that's why my attack wasn't successful before…But now I know its weakness."

"If you say so, Kite," he mocked. I know every move you'll make before you even do. You can't surprise me. After all, I taught you everything you know!"

"He was Kite's dueling instructor?" Yuma gasped.

Quinton proved his theory. "Vetrix—I mean, my father—vanished, and my family was torn apart."

 _It was as though the sky was burning. Autumn leaves rustled through the air. Teardrops splashed on the cracked and dusty concrete. The windows of the town shined a ghastly yellow. Bare trees cried out as the harsh wind snapped of their frail branches. The complaints of children rang through Christopher's ears. Wind unsettled the braid on his shoulder._

 _Michael grasped Thomas and Isla's hands, for maybe if he held on tight enough, they wouldn't have to go. Maybe father would return. Maybe Chris would stay with them._

 _Isla struggled to hold back her tears. She choked on a sob. She let the ribbon on the back of her dress drag behind her in a feeble attempt to stay connected to the home the big scary men were taking them from._

 _Even Thomas was crying. He refused to move his gaze from Chris. Why was he moving away? It wasn't fair! Where were they going?_

 _"Don't let them take us!" Michael protested, as if they would listen._

 _"My kid brothers and sister were taken away from me…it was hard to watch them go…"_

 _Chris forced his eyes closed, for he feared if he opened them he would answer to their pleas. He should have continued with doing so to avoid being permanently mentally scarred._

 _Why, Chris? How could you let them take us from you? I'll never forgive you if you don't take us back!_

 _Michael seemed to be the only one who wasn't trying to suppress his emotions. Thomas was not the touchy-freely type. Isla has to stay strong as the second oldest. Chris was too busy focusing on not making a fool of himself._

 _Large droplets rolled down Michael's plump cheeks as he gazed back at Chris and his soon to be former home._

 _Chris balled his hands into fists to hold his rage._

"…But I stayed behind with Doctor Faker, to try and solve the mystery of my father's disappearance. That's when I met Doctor Faker's sons, Kite and Hart. I suppose when I saw them, they reminded me of my own brothers. I liked them right away, and my brotherly instincts started taking over."

 _Kite lay on the floor. Chris was the winner of the duel. Slowly he pushed himself from the ground._

"That's why I began teaching Kite how to duel. More than anything, he wanted to protect his younger brother, but he knew he would have to become much stronger."

 _Chris held his hand out. Kite glanced at it, uncomprehending, and then grasped it._

"We had many practice duels as I tried to teach him everything I could. But we're no longer master and pupil, and this duel is for real! I won't let you stand in my way, Kite! Your dueling days will soon be over!"

Kite placed a facedown, unsure how to answer to that. "I'm ending my turn. Throw your worst at me, Quinton!"

He happily obliged. "With pleasure, I draw! You're so predictable! It's almost as if I can read your mind! You've noticed that Dyson Sphere has twenty-eight hundred attack points, but your Galaxy-Eyes has three thousand! So you feel confident that I can't attack."

He growled under his breath. Quinton's musings were too close for comfort.

"But there's one factor you didn't count on. Dyson Sphere has another ability! And I'm going to activate it right now! By using one overlay unit, my Dyson Sphere can attack you directly!"

The giant metal flower absorbed the unit.

"No way!"

"Kite won't have many lifepoints left!"

"S-systems are c-c-crashing!"

"Go, Brilliant Bombardment!"

It readied its attack.

"I activate a trap, Lumenize! This card not only stops your attack, but my Galaxy-Eyes gets a power-up equal to Dyson Sphere's attack points!"

Quinton raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, but totally expected. I activate my own trap, 'Space Gate!' Space Gate destroys your trap, so say goodbye to Lumenize! That means your Galaxy-Eyes doesn't power up, and Dyson Sphere still gets to attack you directly! This one's for my family! Doctor Faker's treachery tore us apart! Defeating you will be just the start of our revenge!"

The strength of the blow sent him flying. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and rolled to a stop.

"Master K-k-kite!"

"I can't believe it! He's makin' Kite look like an amateur!"

"What's the point in continuing? It's hopeless. You only have two hundred lifepoints left, Kite," he pitied. "Why not admit the truth—that you will never outduel me!"

Panel after panel exploded in bursts of flame. Oh how Quinton wished he could have stopped this. The sun in the middle of the mechanical flower burst into flames. The finality and entirety of it swept him off his feet. Silver-blue weaved around the falling young man. He landed on his back in the position of a dead person in their coffin, with his closed eyes and arms crossed over his chest.

The red glow that had overtaken Kite vanished. He glanced at the card in his hand, the only one his father ever gave him.

 _Kite was nine years of age. A tall blonde man in a long white lab coat crouched down to gift him a card._

 _"This is for you, Kite."_

 _The little boy's heart filled with joy. His large blue-grey eyes sparkled. "Ahhh...!" He said at first, unable to express his gratitude. He finally found something. "Thank you, father!"_

Slowly Quinton rose from the ground, discreetly dusting off his robe.

He and his former opponent stood face to face. "I can see now that there are things more powerful than revenge. Deep down, I always knew that was true, but today you helped me remember it, Kite."

"Quinton—I mean, Christopher Arclight," he began.

Chris smiled nostalgically. "It's been a long time since anybody called me by that name."

"I don't understand why you ever changed it," Yuma butted in.

"Like our father, we decided to give up our true names," he explained. "At first, I was hoping that I could save my father. But Byron Arclight really had become someone else. Vetrix was obsessed with his desire to get revenge against Doctor Faker." His eyes misted. This was unusual, considering he would rarely show any emotion, much less cry. "I got caught up in his plans for vengeance. I felt…it was my duty as his son!"

"It isn't," Kite assured.

"Hm?"

"Once I save Hart, I'm going to confront my father. And not only that, I'll do what you couldn't do. I'll stop Vetrix's quest for revenge, just like you wanted."

"You've grown strong, Kite. I am proud to have been your teacher. It was an honor. The bond we forged can never be broken. You and Hart will always be like little brothers to me. Goodbye, Kite."

With that an overlay portal appeared and he bid them farewell.

"Goodbye, Chris."

 **Due POV**

Click. Click. Click.

The sound of Quinton's heeled shoes met her ears.

She head him coming. She knew the outcome of the duel he had had, but didn't want to believe it. Another brother had been swept away by the cold hands of death. It couldn't've been what happened. It just couldn't.

Maybe it wasn't. He seemed to be perfectly fine when he reached Trey's bed. Expressionless, he glance upon him once more.

His blue Crest glittered directly above his heart, severing his soul's connection. His mask of heartlessness shattered, terror in his eyes. He could no longer stand. Onto his knees he fell, and even there was too hard for him. Soundlessly he collapsed on Trey's motionless lap. It almost looked like he was taking a momentary nap when he had work to do. So peaceful and yet so frantic.

"I'm so tired…I need rest."

And rest he would. Rest for a very, very long time.

From her hair Due pulled another strand. She stared at it furiously, wishing it could bring life.

But creation was not so. It wasn't creation as much as image manipulation. She could form a false version of her lost brothers, but they would only be hair manipulated by magic. She could make a card, but it would be incompatible with any duel.

The best she could do was give him a place to sleep.

It tore her apart internally as she placed his still-warm body on the blue bedsheets.

"Goodbye, Quinton. I wish I could have stopped this somehow. But now you can finally sleep. You have no one to take care of. For once, just be in peace. I hope you'll be well afterwards. Goodbye, Christopher. I'll see you when this is all over."


	20. Chapter 20: Depths of Darkness

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners.

Chapter Twenty: Depths of Darkness

 **A/N It's amazing how easy it is to write a chapter when I'm not bored out of my mind writing it! Considering this is my favorite duel, I'm going to try something a little different. I like the dub and sub, so why not mix the two together with my own spin on it sprinkled in two. Shoutout to Sophiaaagh** **for the favorite!**

 **Due POV**

Even though two of her brothers were dead, she could not be in grief forever. She had free time, so she may as well read over old files.

Why? For the memories of her family, of course. Trey loved history, and Quinton had a passion for science. Reading over old archeological files would be her way of respecting them in their soullessness.

She brushed her fingertips along the second most recent file. The ones made with Faker's help didn't count. This one was the one of their oldest ancestors in recorded history. The five royals of the country of Numeria, Quincy, Delta, Trinity, and an unnamed princess. As the inscription went, their also unnamed mother had been killed in war and their father permanently scarred in the same feud. They were called mad by many outsiders, what with their menagerie of wildcats and wolves and their father who wore heavy bandage over his face in the rare occasions he left the palace. The girl kept a record of her every move and every word. It made sense that their sanity was questioned often.

She read the one copy of the journal she owned.

 _I gather the lilac skirts of my traveling gown. Today we will begin our journey. I shall travel to other countries to find a husband, and my elder and twin brother will look for wives. We will visit the Naschian Empire first, a kingdom with a currently unmarried king who just happened to have a sister well. He rules a strong kingdom. Ties with them would do well for Numeria._

 _"Oh, dear twin brother!" I cry, waiting for Delta's response._

 _Despite his princely title, his mouth and actions are one of an unruly slave. Foul and unpredictable._

 _"What. Am I to be overjoyed to have to travel the realm to find a wife? Certainly not. If you marry Nasch, why should I have any interest in his sister?"_

 _I should add that he greatly enjoys complaining._

 _I sigh. "You do realize how childish it is to dream of never marrying when you are second in line to the throne. If anything ever happened to Quincy, you would be first in line. Without a wife, you would have no heir. Without an heir, the country would fall into destruction."_

Due snorted. Even in the past, Quattro was ridiculously stubborn. Perhaps his stubbornness is what kept him alive for so long. He was too heart-set on living to die.

The text was merely her speaking to him and sailing to the Naschian Empire. At least, until a so-called loyal slave almost succeeded in assassinating Delta with an arrow to the side and the head.

 _Delta coughs. I try not to notice the slashes over his eye and cheek or the blood turning the white shirt red._

 _Red like rubies. Red like Trinity's earrings and robe. Red like death's cold glare._

 _Trinity. Oh, what I would do to bring him here! He is the royal healer as well as third in line, so perhaps he could have removed Delta of his wounds._

 _I lift up my head to a bell. It signals that we reached our destination. I rather like it. That is it! The kingdom of Nasch has to have a healer. Delta will live to see another day!_

She read more, hungry for what should happen next.

 _The Vectorian Empire has destroyed everything. The bodies of the warriors of the country scatter across the long grass field. Even the king himself, donned in battle armor, has been slain. His knight friend still has his sword in his hand, shiny and useless._

 _How had we not noticed? An entire empire had fallen. We should have come earlier. We might have had the power to stop this._

 _I believe I should stop writing now._

The note ended abruptly. Nothing more, nothing less.

Awfully strange, for such a detailed record to end like that. How strange that her brother Delta should have be injured the same place Quattro was scarred.

How very strange, indeed.

 **Quattro POV**

Scorching heat met burning flames all around. It felt too close. Too close to that night.

 _"I activate 'Flaming Underworld!' This card—what?!"_

 _Were the flames real? Could holograms have a smell? What was going on?_

 _"How did you do that, you pyromaniac? The building's on fire!" Rio screamed._

 _I shook my head. No…this couldn't be happening. I know Vetrix said the card was powerful, but how is it breaking out of the digital phase?_

 _"Is this what you wanted when you challenged me? Are you aiming to kill us both?" she spat._

 _I avoided answering. The flames curled and licked the thin rafters above our heads. One directly above her spurted, creaked, and fell. She didn't notice it until it was too late to save herself. I dashed to her side, successfully knocking her out of the way. I can't say the same for me. The beam landed with a loud crash. I bit my lip, drawing blood, anything to avoid crying out. I tore off the top layer of my coat, too hot to wear it._

 _Rio gasped. She almost stepped towards to help and then thought the better of it. "I'll find my own way out."_

 _She progressed through the embers. And then she met a dead end. From the corner of my eye, I could see her just barely making her way out of the passage until she collapsed. Her dress and hair caught fire._

 _I couldn't leave her there. I had already been burned for her case and wasn't going to let that go to waste._

 _I snatched her limp arm. Good. Now I just had to get out of there. I should have added uninjured to that sentence._

 _With the unconscious girl on my shoulders, I trudged to the door. It was so close. I could just reach it…_

 _What I hadn't expected was the second beam. I had focused too hard on the door. I snapped my head upward the second it came down, flames cutting down my eye in an upside-down t-shape. The smell of blood mixed with the sickening scent of smoke. With my free hand_ _I_ _covered_ _my_ _eye_ _hand I_ _covered my eye to slow the blood flow._ _The white fabric of the_ _undershirt_ _stained_ _red_.

"You'll pay for what you did to my little sister!" Shark threatened.

 _He was lucky I even had decided to save her at all,_ a small part of me thought wistfully.

Out loud I cackled, painting myself as the villain he believed I was. "And you are an idiot. I led you to the Magma field on purpose. Your deck is full of water monsters. And water and fire don't exactly mix."

He smirked. "Is that so? Guess we'll just have to see when we duel."

"Alright, then." The life point tabs clicked in.

"I'll go first. I activate the field spell, Plate Salvage, and suddenly the thing that makes this place so scorching is gone for two turns. With that, I'll summon Tripod Fish. Thanks to its ability, I can Special Summon Shark Stickers from my hand! With two Level Threes, I can Xyz Summon Submersible Carrier Aeroshark! By using an overlay unit, I can deal you damage equal to the amount of cards in my hand. And I'm holding three cards."

Here we go. First turn and already at 2800 life points. Tch. I can stand to lose that many. I've won at bigger disadvantages before.

As he set two cards I pressed myself off the ground. "Nice move, Xyz Summoning in your first turn. Makes me even more eager to destroy you! But hey, thanks to your Xyz Summon, I can bring Gimmick Puppet Magnet Doll to the Field! And to top that off, welcome Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer, who, thanks to its ability, can become the Level of another monster on my field. Xyz summon! NUMBER 15: GIMMICK PUPPET GIANT GRINDER! Because of its effect, your Aeroshark is no longer! Take some of my fanservice, kid!"

His life dropped to 2100. I laughed again, my victory practically assured. I declared a direct attack. It almost seemed too easy…

"Not so fast. Ever heard of the trap card 'Bubble Bringer?'" A shimmering bubble shield covered Shark.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Yuma beam. "That means Shark won't take any damage!"

"Yeah," I agreed. "But he won't be safe for long. Ya see, Plate Salvage only lasts two turns. So with the end of my turn, this scorching place'll return to just how it was!"

Shark's expression turned dark. "Save your narration for after the duel. I summon Hammer Shark!" The field turned even the watery summon red-orange. "And now I activate Bubble Bringer's other effect, and with it Tripod Fish returns. Because it was special summoned, its ability activates, changing its level to four."

"You idiot!" I insulted. "Did that fancy chain of effects make you forget? The Magma field destroys all WATER-attribute monsters!"

The fiery dragons rose from the liquid flames, spitting curly spurts of fire. They descended down upon the young duelist. He greeted each without fear. It soon became apparent why.

"Hnh. Didn't see 'Adapt to Adversity' coming, did you, Quattro."

"Tch. Save it for later, right?"

"Fine. Any card brought back by 'Bubble Bringer' is treated as two Xyz materials. Descend from the watery depths of endlessness, Number 32: Shark Drake!"

Shark Drake. Where had I heard of that before? Right. Due had given Shark the card. She never told me why. It seemed strange. She never kept secrets from me, and never I her. What could its purpose be? It made no logical sense.

"Have you finally figured it out, my boy?"

"What?" I snapped my head toward where Vetrix's voice had come from. I had a sinking feeling I knew what he was talking about. "What is my purpose in your plan, exactly?"

His lips bent upward. "Oh how I've waited for this moment. The day you two should fight to the bitter end, hm? It's increased the darkness in Shark's heart significantly!"

"I knew you and Quinton were planning something, but I never thought you'd use Due to complete it," I grunted.

He vanished, reappearing behind me. "There is a reason I never told you, you know." He chuckled. "Quinton, Trey, and Due are obedient and comprehendible, but you are my wild card. If I had involved in my plan, surely you would have spilled it with that loose mouth of yours. Each of you have a part to play!"

But what about me? "Fine then. What was Trey supposed to do? Me?"

He teleported again. The flashes became almost painful to my eyes. "You are to drive Shark's anger to its greatest potential!"

No…There's no way that could be all I was for, right? I wasn't just a pawn to be sacrificed, was I?

"You're telling me that all I get to do is make Shark angry?!" My voice involuntarily hitched on the last three words.

"Yep! But you'd better be cautious of his power, unless you're not afraid of ending up like Trey! Hahaha…"

"Shark Drake! Attack Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder!"

I still had multiple tricks up my sleeve.

"I detach one overlay unit to return your monster with a thousand less attack points and attack again!"

I curled my fingers around the card I was about to play. "You could…If it wasn't already gone! I summon Gimmick Puppet Twilight Joker from my hand! I have to banish Giant Grinder to bring it to my field, so you won't be directly attacking me anytime soon!"

The purple, blue, and grey jester-like puppet glittered from the card and onto the field.

"Shark made a strong move. I must say that was a stunning counter," Vetrix chided. "With pulls like those, he'll be pushed to his limits!"

That couldn't be all I was useful for, right? I couldn't just be a way to fuel a teenager's anger, right? I just couldn't.

"Gyah—VETRIX!" I lunged toward the hologram of him. "I did everything for you! So why…Why would you chose him over me, or Due, or Quinton?"

"Everyone has their own role to play, Quattro. And Shark fits 'assassin' much better than you."

"Ugh—That's not true! I am the stronger duelist, and I will prove it! So I'll activate Gimmick Puppet Ritual! I can return a Gimmick Puppet from my graveyard by compromising its attack phase. That's okay, 'cause I'm using it and Twilight Joker to summon Gimmick Puppet of Strings! On it I'll equip String of Destiny, which let me send the card I would draw to the graveyard. If it's a monster, I can attack an amount equal to its level! And look, it was a monster. Not just any monster, but Level Eight Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll! Now, go! Heaven's Blade!"

1900 life points.

1700.

1500.

He hit the ground so hard the third time, holographic blood turned the already red rock redder than before.

1300.

Yuma said something, but I was too enticed in dealing pain to my rival to notice. After some time he shut up.

1100.

"Suffer, Shark! _Feel the pain I have to deal with every day of my life! Take on the curse of my life!"_

900.

700.

500.

He curled in a fetal position on the ground. He shuddered and choked on a breath.

"And wait! Why stop there when I can put a String counter on Shark Drake for one overlay unit? At the end of this phase, Shark Drake will be destroyed and you will take its attack as damage. It's hopeless. Get up so I can put you out of your misery!

He didn't answer. But why was the problem with that? He could share the fate of Faker for all I cared.

Maybe my success would resurrect Vetrix's trust in me.


	21. Chapter 21: Twins Broken Forevermore

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I think Quattro is my favorite Arclight now. May I just say, I had way too much fun writing this chapter. And if anyone was curious, I'll be writing more about the past AU in the sequel that I'm planning. I might change that, but it fits with Zexal II better. Shoutout to Marume Chiisa for the review! I really love reading learning what my readers think about my work! :)**

Chapter Twenty-one: Twins Broken Forevermore

 **Due POV**

She closed the file.

She felt so useless, sitting alone in the dimly lit cabinet in the abandoned hotel. But what was there for her to do? It wasn't like she could see the duel. All she could do was sit and wait for her last surviving brother to return. Hope that if the Crest took him she'd be able to exchange a few words with him before he was stolen from her as everyone else had been.

Kite. He had progressed to the next round as she had. What would become of him? What if his next duel was his last?

She had to speak with him one more time before the finals.

Kite again sat by his brother's side. However, his eyes were completely dry.

"Kite. I shouldn't have come, but we haven't spoken since the Finalist Ball. I'm just really going through a hard time. I need someone I can trust with the most guarded secret I have. I don't care if it breaks every rule Vetrix ever wrote!" She glanced at him. "Was it a bad kiss? Is that it? It was, wasn't it. I'm probably worrying about nothing, and now I'm rambling. Quinton's death offset me more than I thought it would. Heh."

He rose from the starry purple carpet. "No. That's nowhere close to it. You're the first person that I've ever wanted to protect besides Hart. That includes protection from emotional stress. I hope you can forgive me for forgetting." He gently kissed her lips. "I want you to know you can say anything. I won't question it."

She gazed at him, his face inches from hers.

His grey-blue eyes that shimmered with protective passion. His lips that had touched hers a moment ago.

"Thank you. I always come to the Heartland City Capital. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but I want you to see where I live. There's a room with a view just like this. It feels like you can see the entire world. But it's okay if you don't want to come. Two soulless bodies are rather frightening."

"Yes," he breathed. "I'll go if you want me to. As a number hunter, I'm not frightened by it in any way," he added wistfully.

Hand in hand, she lead him through the overlay portal.

Quattro held onto a pillar for dear life. He smiled weakly at the two of them. "I'm glad that at least one of us gets a happy ending. Maybe in my dreams, I'll be just as happy as you are. Who knows? Maybe that dream will come true."

He collapsed like one of his marionettes and released a final breath.

" _Quattro_!"

 **Quattro POV (earlier)**

"I won't accept a surrender. Stand up so I can beat you!"

He finally rose, twisting in agony. The shard of hate in his chest glowed an evil minty green. He shook his head and clutched it, as though he was having an internal battle. Thanks to the number of his, maybe he was.

" _I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED ANY MORE!_ " he suddenly promised himself. "I activate Different Deep Sea Trench, which banishes on WATER-attribute monster as long as it stays on the field. That way, your String Counter won't affect me."

Why would he…oh.

"Nice maneuver there. The only problem is that you just lost your best monster. And I still have String of Destiny equipped, not to mention 3000 attack points and you with nothing! You have to accept you've got no chance of winning!"

"Do you really believe that, Quattro?" Vetrix intercepted hauntingly. "You're relying on pure luck, with the top card of your deck and battle phase at stake. A true strategist puts noting to chance! You were lucky to have drawn a monster last time."

I spun back to him, begging for a chance. "Why won't you trust me in anything?"

Emotionlessly he gave an answer. "You're too rash for my liking. So contrasting to your siblings. Think out this duel rationally, if you're capable of that, that is."

"I never realized your mistrust ran so deep. But I think I know why. I don't bend over to you like the mindless slaves you've forced my sister and brothers to become! Yeah, I was may argue and talk back, but that doesn't make me any less loyal to you! Everything I ever did was for you, and still you hold me at a arm's length! And you know what? I miss my father, the man named Byron Arclight. He loved and believed in us. But now, he's nothing more than a cold-hearted revenge-obsessed child, who gives us orders instead of love!" I shuddered, struggling to hold back tears.

I wouldn't cry. Not in front of Shark.

"All of us still obeyed you! Maybe it's in memory of the father you once were. That's why…that's why I've done everything to make the one you chose over me hateful!"

Taking advantage of the anguish I felt, Shark spat insults. "You're a pathetic brat, you know that? Even if Vetrix was behind it all, you still did all those things to me! I'm not going to pity you over some tragic backstory!"

"Well you're going to end up empty-handed! Once I beat you, Faker will be next! When he's gone everything will go back to how it was!" I retaliated, hurt by his cruelty. All I could do was hope it didn't show. "That'll be the first step to save my family! Maybe then I'll get the love and trust that was stolen from me…"

Vetrix looked down heartlessly, unmoved by my words. "You think that you're the only useless one? Ha! Your brothers are just as useless! I'd rather trust three baboons! They've delivered nothing but disappointment!"

"And Due?" I asked shakily.

"She, so far, is the only one that hasn't ruined anything yet. Although, her relationship with the elder son of Faker makes me question her loyalty. I can't leave anything to chance, so I'm not trusting anything with her. I can only trust myself. You can never tell when the one you put your faith in will stab you in the back!"

I shut my eyes to prevent the tears from spilling. "I…Am I just a pawn then? Just as Quinton and Trey were? I have to be more than that! As the Asia Champion I have to! And this move will prove it to you! I attack with String of Destiny! With this I will prove my worthiness!"

The card I held was a spell card.

Quickly brushing it off, I continued. "I may have lost my battle phase, but I'll amend to that. Gimmick Puppet Scissor Arms destroys any equip card on my field and doubles its level. String of Destiny was more of a bother than it was helpful, anyway."

The silver-blades slashed at the sword until it was no longer.

"And now I'll summon Gimmick Puppet Nightmare!"

The name fit the maze of puppet body parts well.

"With two Level Eight monsters, I build the overlay network! Meet my true trump card, Number 88!"

I smashed my fists together, wind unsettling the blonde part of my hair. The Crest's power radiated around my body.

I was winning.

I was powerful.

I would be the victor of this duel.

" _GIMMICK PUPPET OF LEO_!"

The lion-headed warrior king rose, shiny black hands resting on its ginormous red sword. Its cold red eyes menacingly glanced at the people unlucky enough to view it.

I stood by it, basking in the glory of the monster's ferocity. "Each turn it can absorb one overlay unit. Once it has none left, you automatically lose!"

Shark glanced upon it in disbelief. His field was remarkably empty.

"Shark."

"Hnh?"

"You can get around this in one way. Think it as Quattro could never: strategically," the blonde hologram advised.

"Gh…Don't tell him how to beat me!"

He turned back. "Oh? You're so useless, you're already dead to me. Your role has now ended. You've done an acceptable job in completing it. I have no further need of you." He moved back to my rival. "You want to beat him, yes?"

He balled his hands into fists. "Yeah. Anything for my revenge."

"Good! I'm glad we're on the same page," he answered jovially. "It will be easier to make you my puppet."

"I'm…I'm not your puppet!" Shark bit back.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that. Shark Drake is calling you! Accept that it is the only path to victory."

He bent over, crying out. He delved into a psychological hell, struggling to allow what he had fought so hard against take hold of his very soul.

He fell to his knees and clutched at his heart. The shard's glow intensified.

Yuma begged Shark not to let it take him, but he was greatly ignored.

A new aura surrounded his body. "I put my facedown face up and switch it to defense mode! By tribute for Deep Sweeper, I can destroy one spell card. The card I chose is Deep Sea Trench! Welcome back your own worst nightmare."

It couldn't be…

"Well Gimmick Puppet of Leo still had more attack points!"

He tapped his lip. "Yes, but not for long. I rebuild the overlay network! Chaos Xyz Evolution. Appear, Chaos Number 32: Shark Drake Veiss!"

He had done it. Reginal Kastle had successfully summoned a Chaos number.

"I'm not done."

"WHAT?!"

"I use an overlay unit to reduce your monster's attack points by the attack of an Xyz monster in my graveyard. I chose Aeroshark. Your Gimmick Puppet of Leo is no more threatening than a kitten! With that, I attack Gimmick Puppet of Leo with Shark Drake Veiss! Go, Chaos Stream!"

Just as he commanded, a thousand streams of purple light blasted through my monster. The seal of the Crest broke before my eyes. Life points plummeted down to zero.

 _It doesn't hurt like I thought it would, losing my soul. It almost feels…good._

With no more usefulness, the AR link shimmered away.

I lifer my head from the ground weakly. "I'm sorry, Shark. For everything."

"Yeah right. After everything you pulled?"

"Please. You have to believe me. When I dueled your sister, Vetrix made me use a powerful card which caused a huge fire. I saved her from the fire. I couldn't leave her to die. I never meant to hurt her. So if you're going to hate anyone, hate me. They are my actions, after all. I'm okay with that. Just please, if you ever see my father again, tell him we're waiting," I pleaded as I felt the tug of the overlay portal. "Bring my father back."

Two beds held my brothers. Soon I would join them.

Another portal opened, bringing Due and Kite.

"Quattro!" she cried.

I held onto a pillar to hold myself up. "I'm glad that at least one of us gets a happy ending. Maybe in my dreams, I'll be just as happy as you are. Who knows? Maybe that dream will come true."

I let go, collapsing in her arms. She let out a sob. "Not you. I can't lose you too!"

Kite looked slightly uncomfortable.

I turned to him. "Love my sister while I'm gone, will you?"

He nodded.

I knew when I said them that these were my last words. "I'll see you when you find out how to fix this, okay?"

She pulled me closer, crying a river. "I will find a way to save all of you. On my soul I swear it."


	22. Chapter 22: A Brief Pause

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N Well I kinda lied about the past AU. It's just so fun to write about! Sorry for the short chapter. I may revise it later, but I can't really think of a better transition from Quattro's death to Kite vs Vetrix. Oh well.**

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Brief Pause

 **Due POV**

Quattro couldn't be dead. Due couldn't be the last survivor. How could this have happened?

Was it her fault? Maybe if she hadn't given Shark the card, he wouldn't've have defeated her brother. Shark Drake had been his downfall. Inadvertently, she had killed her own brother.

And Kite. What did he think of this? He had never much liked Quattro, that much was obvious, but still. What was his opinion on all this?

I'll see you when you find out how to fix this.

She had to fulfill her promise to her brothers.

A black fingerless gloved hand drummed along the pillar Quattro held not long ago. The other hand held her shoulder, the fabric strangely rough on her skin.

She looked back at him, her face stained with gold. She took a strand of hair, wishing it could return souls.

"Your tears are gold."

She sniffed. "That's right. Got anything you need to be destroyed?"

He was taken aback by that answer. "No. You're not dying," he decided.

"How many souls have you taken?"

"What?"

"You're a number hunter."

"Oh, that? Seventeen. Why?"

"I've lost count. I remember when all four of us were alive we would have number hunting contests. Quinton and Trey were never really interested, but they still participated. Whoever had the most souls got to tell the sibling of their choice what to do for six hours. I'd always make Quattro do some stupid task. One time I made him knit me a sweater. Another time I made him watch the first kid cartoon that appeared on the television and give me a summary of it in essay format. It's thanks to me he knows how to sing Christmas songs in seven different languages. I remember he really hated that.

"One year we were setting up our Christmas tree, and Quattro was super excited. We were only seven years old. He was heart-set on putting the star on top, so he stood on top of two stepladders to reach the top. He knocked the tree over, and the cat freaked out. He shredded a curtain before calming down. Then Trey took the soapy water he'd been playing with earlier and dumped it on Quattro's head. Dog lover he was, he shook off the water like one, staining my brand new Christmas dress. Dirty clothes were one thing Quinton would not stand for. He was by far the worst, telling on them. I got jealous that my little brothers were hogging all the fun, so I wrapped Quattro up with two garlands. Father came in and tried to fix everything. Never get on his bad side, 'cause I swear he's a ninja. But why am I warning you? The father I knew is long gone…"

She leaned against his shoulder. Lovingly he held her, comforting her in her time of loss.

"I have to go back to the tower now. Heartland can't know I'm gone."

"Oh. Okay."

He left through a portal she summoned. Now she was here, with no one to talk to but soulless bodies.

Her already shattered heart broke beyond recognition.

 **Kite POV**

I collapsed onto the small rectangle my bed was. The size hadn't really ever bothered me until now.

A sudden pain erupted through my body, pausing any idle thoughts.

As it progressed, I reminded myself that this wasn't anything new. This was the side effect of the ability to take souls.

The Photon Transformation's power was simply taking its payment for use.

Nothing new.

Out the window were many fireworks as Mr. Heartland explained what the next part of the finals would be.

"The finalists will duel in a championship. The winners duel each other, and the losers fight for a spot back in the championship. The two with the most wins will then battle in a surprise field. I'd tell you what it was, but it's a surprise, you see. And remember duel fans, Heart Burning!"

 **? POV**

She drummed her fingertips along the gold armrests of the throne. Three princes bowed to her before trying to convince her to court them.

What a bore this was. She'd never find a country to rule at this rate.

She continued threading the tapestry. Under and over she weaved. Each string tightly forced into a pattern. Two lovers held their hands to each other, frozen and fated to never touch. It was cruel, but she did not care. She had named it Fate of Dualism. It was rather unoriginal, she knew that much, but who was going to judge?

A new young man entered. Orange hair framed his round face, strands of beads strung through it. More bead crossed in an X over his otherwise bare chest. On his arms were two golden armored gloves. He wore boots of the same design. Around his waist was a rather plain triple-layered black wrap. His violet eyes had a rather devious air to them.

"King Vector of the Vectorian Empire, my lady." He dropped to one knee and kissed her hand.

She laughed. Finally, an interesting suitor. "Charmed. Now, why do you wish to court me?"

With another lopsided smile he raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say I need a queen to rule my empire with. I can tell that by far I possess the greatest riches and the largest kingdom. It extends from the tip of Devon to the border of Numeria."

Numeria? Why, that country was on the other side of the continent! Was he interested in world domination?

"My, my. What a large kingdom you have! I'll have you know that you are my favorite ruler that I've spoken to today. Perhaps I may even fulfill your request!" She nodded and bowed, her country's dismissal symbol.

"Farewell, princess," he grinned.

"Farewell."

What an intriguing king. I may need to keep my eye on him.


	23. Chapter 23: Shattered Hart

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful that I was able to finish this chapter in about two hours with all this holiday craziness going on. I'm also thankful the Arclights exist…but who wouldn't be?**

Chapter Twenty-Three: Shattered Hart

 **Due POV**

"Welcome back, duel fans! If you're just joining us, our tournament is now underway! As of now, our young competitor Yuma has just defeated Shark! What a match that was, am I right? It's time to put your hands together for the mysterious Vetrix and the undefeated Kite!"

Due grinned at that. Not exactly undefeated.

"After that, we'll have Due go up against a mystery duelist. Who could they be, I wonder?"

Good question. She had a feeling who, though. She'd probably be up against Heartland himself.

Kite stood in the tunnel waiting for his duel to begin. Both Due and Yuma had the same idea. Each had something to say to him.

"You can't lose to that creep! Oh, uh, no offense, Due. We have to duel again! We can't settle our score with a draw, right?"

Kite nodded. "Alright, Astral."

Yuma looked slightly disappointed at Kite's refusal to acknowledge him. Before he could say anything else, the person Kite wanted to speak to much more interrupted.

"Don't you go dying on me, now. Is it strange to ask for you to tie with him? I guess it's the only outcome I can think of that'll end with both of you alive."

He blinked. "I'm winning so you and Hart will be free of his grasp. Both of you can leave now. I have to go duel him no matter what."

"Okay." She kissed his cheek. "Good luck."

She backed away as he stepped into the huge crowd of adoring fans.

"Now that both duelists have gathered, we can ascend to the Sky Field! Vetrix vs Kite. What a wild duel. Let's wish both of them luck! Heart burning!"

Vetrix giggled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Oh, I'm not laughing. I'm shaking in excitement. This fight shall show Faker just how serious I am about this. The death of his first son will atone to that, yes? Is that correct, Faker? Enjoy the show while you can. Hahaha…"

Definitely laughing, Due thought to herself.

"Get ready to lose, Vetrix. You're going to repent for all you've done to Due and Hart!"

"Thank you for finally asserting it. I was questioning whether or not she was entirely loyal to me and our plot. Lighten up a bit, though. I have a surprise for you."

"So what?" Kite snarled. "You think I care? Photon Transformation!"

Once he finished changing his coat from black to white, he collapsed to his feet, steadying himself with his hand and seething in pain.

Vetrix called his own duel disk to his arm. It was yellow with small silver-white details decorating it at the sides.

This was new to her. She'd never actually seen him duel before.

"Good luck, Kite. You'll need it."

 **Kite POV**

"I'll go first! I summon Photon Crusher and equip it with Photon Spear. This makes the monster that has it count as two tributes. I tribute summon Photon Crusher!"

The familiarity of the four-edged blade felt unusually comforting in my hand. I tossed it, sending it into a brilliant explosion of starry blues and whites.

"Appear, Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon!"

The dragon lifted its mighty head and roared as I set two cards. With it came an unexpected wave of pain.

A smile played at the visible side of Vetrix's mouth. I felt his gold eye burn over me. I panted, oxygen rough in my throat.

"It's such a shame that you can't visit the nurse's office now. You're practically dead," he chided. "Since it's my turn, here's a Heraldic Beast Basilisk. And for the first part of my grand surprise, I equip Heraldic Blast to Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon!"

Why would he equip something on one of my cards? He must have some kind of combo plan that he's setting up.

"I attack your Dragon with my Basilisk! It has an effect, you see, that instantly destroys the monster it battles! And if I have Heraldic Blast equipped, you take its attack as damage!"

I knew it.

"I would if I hadn't used Galaxy-eyes' ability, which banishes battling monsters until the battle phase ends."

Another childish grin. "Good play. A question, if I may. You duel for one thing, yes? That makes us alike in some ways. I myself duel for revenge. Revenge on your father, Doctor Faker. He made me this being. I've lost everything I once held dear. Interdimensional limbo can change you to something entirely unlike what you once were. Hatred for him is the only thing I have left."

"Why would you sacrifice your children to achieve that?" I growled.

"Do you not do almost the same when you hunt numbers?"

He was too right for comfort.

"Shut up! Let's finish this so I can tear your hopeless soul from your body and crush it with my own hands! I summon Photon Satellite! When summoned, it gains the level of another Photon monster. It also counts as two Xyz material, so welcome Number 9: Dyson Sphere!"

It was truly a number of incomparable size. The panels stretched endlessly, covering the sky itself.

"I equip Photon Wing to Galaxy-eyes. This lets me add attack points equal to Dyson Sphere's rank times 200. I also get to attack you directly this turn."

His defeat was inevitable. Both Due and Hart would be free of him forever.

There he stood with 3200 life left.

How was this possible?

He weaved his fingers through his braid. "I would have lost if I hadn't activated the trap card 'Heraldry Change.' It let's me summon a Level Four or less monster from my deck and reduce damage by its level. I summoned Heraldic Beast Aberconway, which reduced the damage by 4000. Are you happy now, Kite? I promised a surprise, and here it is!"

With that he tore off his mask.

Uunder it was a holographic version of Hart's face.

"Why, brother? Why are you hurting me?" Hart-Vetrix wondered in my brother's pained voice.

"Agh… What kind of sick joke is this?!" I yelled.

A hologram of Hart in his death-sleep appeared above his head.

"Why are you so mad? I am Hart and Hart is me," he insisted. "My pain is his and his pain is mine!"

He twisted the skin on his cheek and Hart groaned. He tightened his grip on the blanked.

My heart swelled in my chest. He was alive, but he was in agony. And so was I.

He pinched his face again. "It hurts, brother! Stop hurting me!"

I rushed to the edge of the platform, about to command Orbital 7 to fly away.

A dark violet duel leash latched onto my wrist before I could escape.

"Kite! I'll go and save Hart! I'm sorry, Father. I have to do this," Due interjected from nowhere.

I glanced downward, witnessing a flash of purple and an ant-sized girl walking inside that flash.

"I knew she was disloyal to me after all. I overlay my Heraldic Beast Aberconway and Basilisk. Come to me, Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage! Prepare to meet your end! I detach one overlay unit to use one of its three effects. I chose the ability that lets me reduce the attack of the monster it battles to zero. And where do those points go? Why, they replace the attack Genom-Heritage!"

There was one thing he was forgetting. "Then I'll use Dyson Sphere's ability. It retrieves its overlay units from the graveyard and can use one to stop that attack."

"I'll just have to use that other unit to its abilities then! Hahahaha!" Hart-Vetrix cackled. "I set a card facedown and end my turn."

2800 life gone in one turn. I'd have to make do with the remaining 1200.

He made a pitying face. "Poor you, forced to fight your own brother. This will be perfect. I'll kill two birds with one stone. Or should I say, two brothers with one duel!"


	24. Chapter 24: Hart of Darkness

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N This is crazy! Two more chapters left till this fic is finished! On a different note, the Latin means "From the bottom of my heart and soul, this I wish. Begin the Ritual now!" Also, I'm sorry if the use of the their true names is confusing. It just felt right to use them. Shoutout to Aracaris for the favorite!**

Chapter Twenty-Four: Hart of Darkness

 **Due POV**

The young bluenette groaned in agony. Vetrix continued to torture him despite his pained cries.

What could she do? There was no way to help him out of this state. Except…

She stared at her hands. Did she have enough of her soul left to pull that off? Surely having a soul a sixteenth of its normal size would damage the Ritual, if she could even cast it.

Hart opened his eyes a slit. "Due…"

She gasped at the movement.

"Help me…"

She had to save him. For Kite, and if not for herself. With all the souls she had stolen, she would no doubt have an innumerable amount of blood on her hands.

" _Ab imo corde et anima, hoc volo. Incipe rituali nunc!_ "

She had to do it. To reduce the evil she had done in even the slightest bit.

The Ritual connected their minds. She reached out to him, but felt nothing but a gentle cherry-blossom-filled breeze. The sweet air swooshed around her, raising her hair. Hills of grass rolled over what she assumed was the ground. A little house rose from it. She assume it was his childhood home Kite had spoken of once.

"You shouldn't have come, naughty girl."

She turned to see who had spoken, already recognizing his voice, dreading the boy her eyes would fall upon.

It was Vetrix, that much was right, but he no longer had an eye of gold. Instead, black hatred flowed from his visible empty socket and more from his sickening permanent grin.

"You're in trouble now. You're only a thirtieth of your soul left. It shall split in half if you try to escape. With that little left, you'll barely be able to even teleport or transform things. You should have let someone else help."

A single tear escaped her eye. Liquid Barian crystal splashed on the grass. The blades turned black as ashes. The blackness spread until it coated the entire field. The house shuddered and exploded into flames.

Vetrix let the flames envelop him. Around him he summoned three flame-shaped figures. Each looked remarkably like her brothers.

She could have laughed at the sight. How ironic was it that Quattro should be represented as fire, the thing that scarred him. And Trey was so kind and gentle. He was nothing close to fire. Finally, Quinton was much too cold for anything beyond slightly warm.

She took her hair. She willed power into it, waiting for the familiar platinum sword to materialize.

There was one catch. It didn't.

Was she too weak even now?

She bit her lip, tasting blood. Blood. Blood was a part of her. She could put it to use.

The sword finally appeared in her hand as she let the sticky red substance drip from her fingers.

"Bring it on, Father."

The black steam gathered around his feet. He rose, growing and changing.

Fingers lengthening and bending into claws. Wings extending from his arms. Legs bending in awkward ways. Scales coating his inhuman body.

Dragon-Vetrix raised his ginormous head and roared.

She let free a battle cry, running towards him. His transformation actually made it easier to fight him. She wouldn't have to look at the face of her former father while landing the final blows.

The sword hacked away. Each time she struck, black mist flowed from the gashes instead of blood. He stumbled back, wounded by her attack.

He snapped at her, yellow fangs sinking into her shoulder. She seethed in pain. Could she really be this weak?

"Father! What must you try to kill me when I am your daughter?" she cried.

" _NO DAUGHTER OF MINE WOULD BE SO DISLOYAL TO ME. SHE HAS FALLEN FOR A SON OF FAKER, AND THAT SHALL NEVER BE FORGIVEN._ "

His voice was different. If felt warped, much deeper than normal.

No matter. She had a dragon to slay.

She rushed back as his claws almost tore her to shreds. She had to focus.

She took more hair and wiped it on her shoulder to give herself a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

Before she could set the arrow into the bow, his seemingly endless tail swept her off her feet.

The Quattro-shaped flame wrapped its fiery arms around her. Her skin and clothes singed black.

The smoke took her by surprise. She choked, barely able to breathe.

Enveloped in the flame, she set the arrow in place. She could barely see anything. It'd be so much earlier just to fall asleep. In her dreams she'd never be sad again.

She released the string. The arrow flew. It made its mark in his heart.

His last few words rang through her ears. "Do not fear. This is not my true self but a mere fragment. Thank you for setting a part of me free."

The Quattro-fire loosened its grasp. He bowed his head. Light trickled over his body, colorizing the flame to form her twin brother. The other flames did the same.

With a bit of his power, Byron Arclight had returned her brothers to her for a short time.

Due could have cried again at the sight of them.

"Trey, Quattro, Quinton, I—" She stopped. "I mean, Michael, Thomas, Chris, I'm so sorry that this is the only way I can talk to you."

Michael smiled comfortingly. His hand rested on her injured shoulder. From his fingers came a green light that healed her most major injuries. "It's okay. You can talk to us now."

Chris glanced into the distance in a way that seemed almost longing. "I would congratulate you, but there is much to be done. Beware the one you face on the next round of the tournament. She holds your very fate in her hands."

Thomas sputtered while trying to laugh. "Stop being so mysterious. I mean, why won't you tell her the name of this girl? I don't know anything about whoever this is. No idea why." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Because even in soullessness you have a loose mouth."

Even in soullessness Chris and Thomas argued.

"She will be the one to bring your end to you if you are not wise enough to bring her end first.

 **Kite POV**

Hart was free of Vetrix. Due had saved him. I could kiss her. I probably would after I beat him.

"What you did is unforgivable." I rose to stand up entirely.

Vetrix grunted as the hologram began to flicker. He blindly searched for his mask and placed it back on his face again.

With a smug grin I drew a card. "I activate Galaxy Expedition! Because I control Galaxy-Eyes, I get to summon Galaxy Knight from my hand!"

I had three Level eights. Everything was going according to plan.

"I overlay my three monsters to build the overlay network. I Xyz summon Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! By detaching an overlay unit, I can negate the abilities of all faceup monsters."

And that means that the Number will no longer be safe.

"Photon Howling!"

I bowed my head, slightly aware of my red aura.

"No matter what you do, I'll never forgive you for what you did to my brother, Hart, not ever! Not even if you beg a million times! So go, Neo Galaxy-eyes! Photon Stream of Destruction!"

It was over. I had won.

Or had I?

The dust from the explosion cleared, revealing my still-standing opponent.

"I would have lost had it not been for Heraldry Protection. It reduced your Neo Galaxy-eyes' attack by 800. Thank you for getting so angry. It'll bring upon your own defeat." He cackled yet again. "I summon Heraldic Beast Berners Falcon. With Heraldry Reborn I can return a Heraldic monster from my graveyard. I choose Heraldic Beast Basilisk. Because I have two Heraldic monsters on my field, I can summon Heraldic Beast Eale from my hand. I overlay my Basilisk, Eale, and Falcon!"

His Crest appeared in the sky. From the Crest came a horned beast. I squinted to see its outline in the bright light.

"Number 69: Heraldry Crest! This number requires a great amount of rage to summon, so thank you. I myself cannot feel emotion, so I had to use the rage of those I fought and the rage of even my own sons. You contributed a great amount due to Hart's situation."

All of this he had done just to summon a number?

"Heraldry Crest can activate its ability without using an overlay unit. It negates the effects of all face up monsters and use them itself! So I'll use your own combo and throw it back at you!"

I stared in disbelief as Neo Galaxy-eyes lost its color. Overlay units flew off it one by one.

"Did I mention that Heraldry Crest gains 500 attack for each overlay unit absorbed? I can also attack the amount of overlay units I took. Are you watching, Faker? Dark Matter Demolition!"

My life dropped to 200.

"Attack again!"

0.

"Attack a third time!"

I braced myself for the worst. The pain never came.

Hart has used his remaining power to soften the blow.

 _Thank you._

I watched number after number fly away, feeling a sharp jolt of lightning through my body for each.

I guess my hunt is over.

 **No POV**

Due saw Kite laying there. She knew all to well that he had lost.

She held his limp body in her arms one last time. She called his name, shook him, clapped, anything to bring him back.

Everyone she had ever loved was gone.

A voice pierced the silence. "I hardly think you are ready to duel me.

Due looked up to see a teenage girl maybe her age in a low-cut white shirt and a short turquoise skater skirt. Pale yellow ribbons wrapped around her arms and legs. She held her light and dark pink hair out of her face with seventeen hair elastics on each clump.

She shook her pink half-fringed bangs out of her scarlet eyes. She held a black-nailed hand out to help the confused Due up.

The hand was greatly ignored.

Instead she was given a question. "Who are you?"

The girl placed a hand on her hip. "I'm Cahira Millenium. The last person you'll ever duel."


	25. Chapter 25: The Battle of the Century

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N Sorry for the wait. Writer's block is evil!**

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Battle of the Century

.

 **Due POV**

Cahira Millennium. Where had she heard of her before? Certainly she was some kind of duel champion, but from what tournament? Even her accent was indistinguishable. Her hair and clothes reminded her of the look of the queen of the Vectorian Empire, but she had died thousands of years ago. Could they be related somehow?

Cahira smiled to herself and pushed one of her small pigtails off her shoulders. She called her duel disk to her arm, a wild forest of twined gold wire tied with white ribbon. Four opalescent plates extended outward to hold her cards.

Her left eye flashed blue. Black lines cut down each eye like a scar. Scarlet lips bent upward.

"Let's duel!"

"I'll start. First I'll activate Prophecy of the Millennium. This lets me summon a Level Two monster from my deck. I chose Second Queen. Her ability activates, which lets me summon a Level Five monster from my hand without paying tribute cost. Fifth King's ability lets me summon two monsters from my hand that have levels that add up to the levels of all the monsters on my field combined, so say hello to Third and Fourth King! However, all the monsters I have summoned this turn can't attack or use their abilities for three turns. That is, unless you free them by summoning a Level Six monster. Your move, Miss Arclight."

She would have taken her turn, but each of the royals held an unmistakable resemblance to her brothers and she. It was uncanny. The only difference was that they all had one gold eye and were dressed like 1500s English royalty.

She shook out her worries. It had to be a coincidence. But then again, the Trey-fire had told her that her family would be her downfall.

"I draw! I summon Shadow Knight!"

"I activate the equip spell, Shadow Ribbon, to my Knight. This raises his attack by 400 points as long as I send a Level Eight monster to my graveyard. I place two cards facedown and end my turn." She had to play it safe this time. This was no normal duelist.

The crowd screamed their names. "Du—e! Ca—hir—a!"

Cahira clapped. "Playing it safe, eh? You'll regret that. Meet Tron the Young Leader! This little guy removes anything that stops my monsters from attacking as long as I cut all of their attack down to the number of their level times one hundred. Go, Fifth King! Attack her Knight!"

The young warrior exploded into gold glitter. Her life fell to 3600. Due clenched her teeth angrily. How was she able to do that?

"I activated a spell, you see. It negates all equip spells on one monster for one battle phase." She grinned smugly. "Don't underestimate me, Arclight."

Due seethed. She had to find a weakness in her strategy.

Cahira whipped her hair again. Much like Shadow Jinxer Girl, she traced a finger down her eye like a tear. "Now your field is empty, which sucks for you. So go, Fourth King! Attack her directly!"

The Quattro-like king almost looked like he regretted something as fire burst from his fingertips and sent her life to 3200.

"With that I end my turn!" She pirouetted teasingly.

"Fine." Due drew. "I summon Shadow Dragon. He doesn't like to be lonely, so his ability activates. If you didn't know, Shadow Dragon can summon a level Six or above monster to the field from my hand while ignoring summoning costs. Meet Shadow Agent!"

First only a shadow of the monster appeared, and from it came a woman in all black, a hat covering her face.

"By compromising my battle phase, I use the Shadow Regain spell to return Shadow Knight to my field. His ability lets me change his level to one identical to another monster on my field. With my two Level threes, I Xyz summon! Number 53: Fairytale Author! By detaching an overlay unit she uses the effect of one of her Xyz material. Shadow Dragon's second effect brings your monster with the lowest attack to my side for two turns."

Surely a scary number would stun her for some time. She'd have some time to plan a new strategy.

"Too bad that only lasts two turns. Because the three turns are up, Third, Fourth, and Fifth King get their attack back. However, Third King is still yours. So, I'll just have to destroy him. See, Millennium Bargain makes me sacrifice one Millennium Royal to add its attack to another. So much for using him."

Smoky black hands reached for his heart and mercilessly tore it from his chest. They crushed it, him and his heart explode into red powder which was sprinkled on Tron. His attack rose to 2300.

"I attack you with Fifth King!"

Why would she do that? She had no visible traps placed.

"Too bad for you. Thanks to the quick-play trap, the damage I would have taken is dealt to you instead!" She smiled maliciously. "At the small price of the eldest king, your life drops to a mere 500! Might this remind you of anything, Due?"

What could she possibly mean—wait.

This duel was a representation of her life. And she had a feeling that the ending wouldn't be a happy one.

.

 **P** **ast Cahira POV**

"My lord, I have collected for you what you asked." In her ribbon-wrapped arms she held a basket filled to the brim with liquidified Amoréinian crystal. In it bobbed Numerian flowers.

" ** _Good. Have you found a pitiful soul yet? He is the keystone of my plan. He alone is the one that shall free me from my prison._** "

She nodded. "Yes, I have. His name is Vector. King of the Vectorian Empire. He is just around my age and so happens to be looking for a queen. I have no doubt with a bit of pushing he will be loyal to you. I do not mean to prod, but why do you need the crystal, anyway? I did travel all the way to Amorénia to collect it," she added, hoping for a reason.

" ** _I cannot reveal myself to the king just yet. I must come in his time of ruin. By pouring the crystal in his drink, he shall fall in love with you until he grows to truly love you. It will make sure he picks you as his queen. Meanwhile, the flower petals will make the emotions of his father overflow. He will doubtlessly attempt to, shall we say, rid the world of his son. However, his wife will step in and die by his hand. The emotional strain will destroy his heart, and he will die. The young king will have survived, but he will have witnessed the death of both his parents in one night. That will leave him weak enough to let me slip into his mind and change his intentions. Everything shall go according to plan. It all depends on you completing your assignment_**."

She would do it. For the sake of Don Thousand she had to. He was the one who had rescued her from death all that time ago. He was the one who had bent time itself to change her from a miserable and unimportant peasant to the crown princess of Dimensiané.

 _"Get up, you miserable excuse for a worker!"_

 _Cahira had collapsed after failing to chop a log in half perfectly. It was far too heavy for he to hold. Her cracked fingers bled and her feet ached, but still she attempted to continue to work. She had to work tirelessly to gain enough money for her family to live. The job she had paid well enough, so she didn't have to worry about the possibility of selling her sister into slavery._

 _She bit back a sharp remark and continued chopping wood. They were for the oh-so-benevolent royals themselves. The thought of them living happy and comfortably because they were born into it made her sick._

 _Her situation as a whole made her sick. And there was no freedom from it. Never. Forevermore she would be a laborer working for practically no pay. Trapped because of society._

 _"How would you like to be free?"_

 _She scoffed at the voice. "Great, now I'm ill-paid and ill-minded."_

 _"On the condition you serve me loyally forever, I will save you and your family. You will switch places with the princess and her family, and no one will remember this world besides you."_

 _Hm. Well, she could always run away from him if need be. And it would sure be great to be free._

 _"Alright, Head-demon. I'll do it."_

 _With those words she lost consciousness and awoke in the finest garments and the softest bed. Her wish had indeed been granted. And she would serve him forever because of it._


	26. Chapter 26: The Final Battle

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N After this chapter, I'm starting a holiday one-shot collection!**

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Final Battle

.

 **Due POV**

This was it. She was face to face with most powerful opponent.

"You know what's coming next, don't you."

Fourth King would be sacrificed somehow. She just knew it. She had to counter the combo somehow.

"Don't be scared. It's only karma. How else will all those poor souls be avenged?"

Tch. She had a point.

"Just take your blasted turn already!" Due shouted, ready for whatever she was going to throw at her. She mentally slapped herself for acting like Quattro. That would get her killed.

Cahira beamed. "But of course. So here's a little something. I tribute Fourth King to—"

Due whistled loudly. "Nope, wait, wait, wait. See, you activated my trap card, Candlewick. If my opponent attempts to tribute summon, I can use it as my own Xyz material, as long as I cut the level of my own tribute monster down to four. Prepare yourself as I overlay Fourth King and Shadow Agent! Meet Number 22: Angel of Darkness!"

 **Yesss… Let my power take hold…**

 _What?! How is this happening? My Crest should protect me from this!_

She clutched her head, trying to imagine the Number's voice was nothing but a headache.

 _It's only a headache. It'll go away soon. It had to…_

 **You know I must take your soul for you to be able to defeat her.**

"Sorry, Angel, but no matter what, I won't become Shark. Never in a thousand years! I don't care if that kills me. I won't be a mindless puppet. The strings that bound my twin shall not bind me! NEVER…!"

"Your grip on your soul is fading. Could it be become you lost too much of it saving Hart?"

She huffed. "That may be true, but I will beat you nevertheless!"

"Or maybe it's because the one who possesses the part of your soul you lost!"

No… She couldn't be…

"Yes, Due. The one you bound your soul to to gain that power? It was me. I am the loyal servant and adopted daughter of the great deity Don Thousand himself! I am the Barian Deity Empress!"

The very being on front of her was not a duelist or a princess, but a goddess. A goddess that wished her dead.

"I can glimpse the future, and you're not in it. And if I don't kill you, that number will. Try if you might, it's still my turn. And because you stopped my tribute summon, I can send Second Queen to my graveyard and deal you damage equal to to her defense. It's almost funny, you know. How ironic is it that you yourself should bring your own downfall, hm?"

The blow came gently. She could barely feel it or anything else. Was this what losing your soul entirely was like? It was like a ginormous weight had been removed from her shoulders.

Memories faded from her mind. She only had one dying wish.

" _Yuma… Promise me you'll save my family._ "

.

 **Cahira POV**

Due Arclight's soul was finally hers. Don Thousand would be pleased. All she had to do now was find Vector.

Wait a second. Where was it going?!

She spun around the stadium furiously, looking for anyone to blame. It should have gone to her, but something had intercepted it's passage. Some kind of diamond-shaped symbol with a curly eye in it. Familiarity struck her mind. Only one being possessed that Crest.

Vetrix. He must have connected her soul to him before. That way if he decide to ever release the souls he had captured, they would be revived.

It was so smart. How had she not thought of it? It would keep them safe no matter what happened, and she'd never obtain his daughter's soul without breaking that seal.

Her fist met the yellow metal platform. Her only chance to prove her worth had been destroyed by someone whose powers had been granted by Vector himself. What was Don Thousand's big deal with him, anyway? He was just a Barian Emperor, and he wasn't even their leader.

Heartland smiled in her direction to congratulate her on winning. "You defeated our greatest champion. Maybe you should consider participating next year. Or maybe—"

"Maybe you should shut your oversized mouth," she finished rudely. "Once Vetrix is dealt with, you'll be next, Heartland. Don Thousand requires a powerful soul, and yours would do nicely," she explained with a smirk.

He lunged back with a face of fear and disgust.

"Or should I say your mushed up collection of dead broken souls Faker brought to life?"

His grip tightened around his staff. "How do you know about that?"

She delivered another smile. "It's amazing, the things you learn when your master is a Barian deity."

"Barian _deity_?" he repeated weakly.

"Do you need your ears cleaned, or are you just stupid? You're. Not. Actually. Alive. You're a little project some idiot scientist took pity on," she continued hatefully.

He said nothing. His mouth arched downward so hard, she wondered if it hurt.

With one last gesture to Due's limp body she finished her threat. "This will be you soon."

.

 **Past Cahira POV**

"What do you mean you don't have the money to pay your taxes? This war is a kingdom effort!"

Cahira closed the door a bit more, her loose dark pink bangs covering her face. "I mean that he's raised the pay more than I can handle. We simply cannot afford it."

His hand met her cheek.

"Then you can beg on your knees and tell the king that."

"Fine," she spat back.

The king was tall, with long arms and legs that reminded her of twigs. His hair was a dark minty shade with two green highlights, half-fringed on the left as the custom. Unlike most, however, he wore it short. His clothes were more forgettable, as all they were were simply Dimensianéan battle armor. A golden crown covered in gemstones curved around his head.

He rested an elbow on the arm of the throne and placed his chin on his hand casually. "Why did you bring this slum child to me, Senator Gauche?"

"She refused to pay taxes and disrespected me!" the scarred tax collector complained.

"Taxes, hm?" He rose from his throne. "With the war going on, that could be considered a crime punishable by death. However, I am a benevolent ruler. I pity the unfortunate. As long as they remember that this is the had fate has dealt them and have no right to argue against it. They are, of course, less than any noble." His foot met her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. "But as I said, I pity you. So instead of getting rid of you commoner scum, your pay will be cut in half. And where will that half go? Why, it'll be sent to me and the military. Too bad there's nothing you can do about it."

She choked on a breath. "You…you tyrant!"

His bony finger tapped her nose. "I prefer 'O wise King.'"

"You'll pay. I know someday you'll pay for everything you've done to me and my family. I don't know how yet, but somehow I'll make you pay," she threatened.

"Oh, I'm so scared."

Gauche's hand pushed on her back forcefully. She walked toward the exit with a face of pure hatred.

In this life or another, the king would atone for his crimes.


	27. Chapter 27: The First Awakening

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I'm back! Breaks can be of use every now and then. I can release a chapter that I'm actually proud of! Yay achievements! Shoutout to Darknami for the favorite!**

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The First Awakening

 **Vetrix POV**

"The winner of the World Duel Carnival is Yuma Tsukumo!"

Vetrix covered half of his face with a gloved hand, tracing the sweaty fabric down the strange surface that was almost skin and yet wasn't.

He, Byron Arclight, had been defeated by the son of his greatest friend.

 _Oh, Kazuma. There are so many things I wish I could tell you._

 _Imagine this if you will. The only plan you've ever lived for was almost ready to be put in motion. Then, that last chance was stolen by no other than the son of your best friend. I wish I could say I was angry. It's not as though Yuma wouldn't have brought my downfall upon me anyway._

 _I may as well be dead already. There is far too much blood on my hands. I have committed crimes that even Faker himself would be ashamed of. I cannot make up for a single one of them._

 _Who knows? Perhaps I will return to you one day._

 _And now this boy has my life in his hands. Why should he choose to save me when he knows of what I have done? Just let go and end this. You cannot dream of saving both of us._

Yuma had a strange look in his eyes. It was so strong and hopeful. So much compassion directed towards a piece of trash the universes just happened to pity.

"Let go. I sense you have a good heart and a full life ahead of you. Don't waste it on me," he commanded.

Yuma forced his head back. "Never," he seethed, tightening his grip on the sword. "I'll never let go!"

 _But it didn't make sense. Why wouldn't he hate me?_

"But why?" he begged for rationalization. "Why are you saving me? After everything I've done, how could you possibly attempt to rescue me?"

He smiled. "That's easy. It's because we dueled. And dueling makes bonds that can't be broken, no matter how badly they've earned it. I'm saving you because you're my friend, Vetrix! I wouldn't care if you'd been the one that betrayed my father all those years ago!"

Bonds through dueling. He really was Kazuma's son.

The vortex pulled at his feet ever so invitingly. A tear escaped his remaining eye. He blinked, knowing in his heart what needed to be done.

"I apologize. There's always one person you can't save. To this day I regret what happened to Rosalind. If I had noticed what was happening, maybe I could have saved her. My children would have had a mother to grow up with. But no matter. As a method to spite me, Vector did not give me the power to change the past. As my final act to make at least a bit of remorse for my sins, I'll release the souls I've captured. Goodbye, Yuma."

Their fingers slipped from the other's grasp. He was falling now. The only difference between the first time was that this was his own choice. He watched each soul fly up, farther and farther from where he was going.

Kite.

Hart.

Countless others.

In his hands he held the four that would doubtlessly be the hardest to return. They were the only parts he had left of them.

Or maybe not. The energy from the Sphere Field had torn the solidified tear from under the high collar of his coat.

It was a part of all of them. He, the one that had split it. Christopher, the one who had fabricated the idea. Michael, the one who chose the string to use. Thomas, the one that had cut the string. Isla, the one who had tied the tear and the string together.

He was being selfish. He had to let go.

The final four souls slipped from his grasp. They spun upward, circling and circling.

"Forgive me, everyone," he whispered. To his wife. To the Tenjo family. To the Tsukumos. To his children. To anyone he'd ever wronged.

What an odd thing, for him to dream of such things.

 **Trey POV**

The blackness he thought would last forever finally broke.

He had rested for quite long enough. Now was the time to rise.

A strange coldness blanketed his body. He had become far too accustomed to his bed. But something was off.

Where was Due?

Why were his brothers beside him? Hadn't he gone to sleep alone?

At least he was with them. They had spent so long being apart, he had forgotten what it was like to spend time with them.

He ran a hand through his dusty pink hair.

Quattro narrowed his eyes. "We've been—"

His brother was alright! If he wasn't still half asleep, he surely would have sprung from the covers and wrapped his arms around him. Instead, he merely cried out his name. His true name. "Thomas!"

He twitched at the now almost unfamiliar namesake. "Michael. You're alive. That's good." His eyes widened as though remembering something. "Vetrix… I wonder if Reginal kept his promise. Wouldn't that be something."

Trey blinked. "What promise? Did I miss something when I was sleeping?"

Quattro shook his head. "Yeah. You were out for a good two weeks. It's great to see that Sleeping Beauty finally rose. While you were gone, Quinton and I lost our souls. And Due and Kite got together. That's something. And to top it off, Vetrix told me directly that he no longer cares for any of us whatsoever."

He blinked. "I'm sorry. I wish I'd been awake long enough to figure this out."

Quinton was the only one to stay silent. He looked downward shamefully. "I cannot forgive myself for this. But it cannot be undone. I asked for his downfall, and he has brought it. Why else would I be awake?" His normally bland expression was one of a man whose father had died.

According to him, maybe he had.

Could Vetrix be dead?

 **Due POV**

Crumbling gravel pressed into her cheek. Where was she again?

Right. She had lost the duel. Beaten by the Barian Deity's servant.

No one had the soul to move her from the ground.

Oh ha. She made a pun.

She had to find Kite. She could apologize for all Vetrix had done.

Wait. Removing him had been one of the things he had done. Was Kite even alive?

How was she alive?

She brushed her fingertips over her face. It felt like skin. Besides, she was soulless, not exactly dead.

How long had she been gone for?

She raised her hand, glancing at it. The Crest she was so used to baring on the back of it was no longer there.

Around and around she spun her finger, eventually pulling free a loose strand of hair. She grasped it tightly, willing all the power she could muster into it. She uncurled her fingers, and the in her hand still was her hair.

Could her power truly be gone? It didn't seem possible.

Could it? She'd grown so accustomed to having it. She'd have to walk to places and actually buy things for a change.

Slowly but surely she rose from the metal platform. She had to get to Kite. She had to make sure he was okay.

There was only one place he could be.

And that was Heartland City Capital. The building that was currently falling apart.

She huffed. "Wherever you are in there, I'm going to find you."

 **Kite POV**

Hart, I—

Where is Vetrix?

What's that sound?

Heartland City Capital was falling apart.

I had to make sure Hart was safe. I leapt from the bed, forcing my coat on as quickly as possible.

I rushed down the seemingly never-ending path with Orbital trailing just behind. "How long until we get to where he is?"

"About fi-five minutes, Master Kite," the orange robot replied. "And as of n-n-now, I have discovered someone is fol-following you."

What? Who could they be?

"It's Due," it answered, reading my mind.

Only she would be insane enough to follow me this far. Only she would be so blindly loyal.

I stopped running, giving her the smallest bit of time to catch up. "Let her come back just so I can tell her to leave. How cruel of me."

Sure enough, I glanced back to see a half-awake Due.

She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "I had to come here to see if you were okay. If you had died by my father's hand, it'd be pretty awkward. Heh. My instincts were right again. I swear you're more resilient than me!"

The corner of my mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Maybe."

She sighed. "The point is that I want to help you. If you're going to face off Heartland or Faker or whoever else could be down there, don't think I'll let you go alone. Remember, I handed Maxwell's butt to him on a silver platter. I can handle myself just fine. You, however, are severely weakened by that Photon Transformation of yours. I don't think you could stand for much longer, much less duel."

It was at that moment I stumbled over a large stone.

She laughed and held out a hand to help me up. "Isn't irony great like that? That just proves my point, though. Can you drop your ego for me, at least?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have. Better I die than you."

She stepped in front of me. I edged to the left, ignoring her.

"Fine," she said. "All I wanted was to help. Where's the Kite I was remember from the Finalist Ball?"

I turned backwards sharply. Why wouldn't she listen? How was I to explain it to her?

Orbital backed away slowly.

"I love you, Due. If anything happened to you, it would be like Hart died!" I clutched my heart, already regretting my words.

She agreed. "I know. You don't have to tell me. I feel the same way. That's why I'm being like this. I highly doubt a half-dead teenager would be a threat to whoever we're facing. But two? That's sure to make them worry. Well, they'd be worried for our health, but you know what I mean. Let's face this threat together."

She had gotten what she wanted. I had been swayed by her argument.

"Okay."


	28. Chapter 28: The Countdown Begins

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N It's official. The plot of the Arcshadow has officially gone beyond any possible foreshadowing. But that's okay! I don't have much to say about this chapter besides apologizing for the wait. I think I had too much fun writing it. Shoutout to matthewszabo24 for the favorite. Read and review please. I'm really hungry for them. *insert one of Due's awkward laughs***

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Countdown Begins

 **Cahira POV**

"My lord, I apologize! Vetrix used some kind of soul magic to link her to him! I successfully defeated her, and still she did not become your much-needed sacrifice! As for her numbers, it was as though they were connected to something other, perhaps her life force? Again I dare say, no matter what I do I cannot please you. But just you wait. I will bring the sacrifice you asked for. All the souls she captured and had not given to Vetrix were a given to me. There was only one: Maxwell Pegasus And I believe Maxwell was an influential being, yes? He'll do nicely, I'm sure."

 ** _"He could be of use to me. But not as a sacrifice. Return his soul to him so I can see him alive. He had the power to withstand the power of Fairytale Author, a card that should have taken a complete hold a long time ago. Perhaps he has a resistance to a number's power. His return would be one Due would never expect. In her surprise, she would be weakened, and that weakness would lead to her demise."_**

She could feel him smiling in her mind. Their connection was a strange one. He would speak to her mind directly, and that way she never had to be near him to communicate.

"Understood, master."

Maxwell Pegasus. Asia's youngest millionaire in the trading card business. At the age of sixteen he took his place as Maximilian Pegasus' third successor and had already changed the policies drastically not much more than two months in. He'd bought the dwindling KaibaCorp company 2054. After the early death of Seto Kaiba in 2037, his younger brother was forced to take over. Under him they lost a great deal of power and money.

Here she was, thinking about small business trifles when her master was an alien deity. It was almost laughable.

The little blue circular life force flew from her hands and back to its owner like a dog would its master.

The silver-bluenette 19-year-old opened his eyes.

What a color they were. Not quite blue, but not violet either.

Her interest in his eye color was so thickly coated in idiocy she could have sliced it.

He ran a hand through his silvery shoulder-length hair. "And who might you be?"

 **Maxwell POV**

The pink haired girl said nothing and smoothed her skirt.

Maxwell frowned. It truly was a bore to guess. "If you're not listening, I'm sure it would be fine if I asked you if you have a romantic companion, Miss Pinkette."

She blushed heavily, and he knew his trick had worked.

"Who the heck do you think you are, barging in and questioning my love life?! And for the record, it's Cahira, jerk! Be thankful I even brought you back from your soulless state. Otherwise, you'd still be a half-dead zombie! It's ridiculous that my master believes you have any worth whatsoever," she retorted hatefully.

He half smiled. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Cahira."

She looked so angry that if he had said much more she would have gone insane. "You—you said that just to get my name? Just take your stupid powers and leave me alone! I don't remember you being anyone important before today."

He was fine with what she said earlier, but her insulting his business was one thing he would not stand for.

"I don't believe you know who I am. I am Maxwell Pegasus, the owner of the original Duel Monsters cards. The person that owns the once almost world-dominating KaibaCorp." He place a hand on his chest to look official, even in the circumstance he was currently stuck in.

She glanced at her fingernails. "Uh huh. No power whatsoever. Owning a cheap Japanese trading card company isn't going to change that. I might have considered your ability if you were a Barian Emperor, but you're not." She chewed on the nail of her small finger.

"And how are you any better?"

"I was chosen by Don Thousand himself. He used his power to rewrite time itself to change my social status and let me travel three thousand years into the future."

He blinked.

Saying nothing else, he brushed off his shirt. He hated how loose his tie was. And there was a singed spot on his white cotton undershirt. Simply awful.

"Fine, then. Where would this power you promised me be?" he asked impatiently, despising the situation and the girl.

"Oh, I'm sure Don Thousand'll talk to you sooner or later. I hope he destroys your mind attempting to talk to you. Only mortals with the strongest mental ability can survive the direct transmission." With than she spun back and walked away, finally leaving him alone.

A familiar weight in his pocket startled him. The power than care from it was oddly familiar as well.

He removed the card from his pocket and wet his lips.

"Hello, my old friend," he whispered to the card. "It feels so good to have you back in my hands."

 ** _"Good. I see that you have passed the first test. If you survived getting this message, then you have passed the second as well."_**

 **Due POV**

Hand in hand they ran. They had no idea what the threat ahead of was, and still they ran. The question was what they were running for. Was it for Hart, or perhaps something else?

If Faker was the one down there, it would be for revenge.

"Fifty sec-seconds until we reach our destination."

She let out a breath. She could stop running soon. It was rather tiring, after all.

She looked back at Kite. Her eyes traced his stained expression. It was as though he was sick and had chosen to run a marathon anyway.

Just a bit longer…

The ceiling above them collapsed.

The rubble fell, and it seemed to go by in a flash. One second she was pushing him out of the way, and the next she was trapped under a pile of rocks.

She frowned. "This is an awkward change of events. Oh well. I'd ask you for help, but you probably aren't going to. That would waste your strength. Not to mention that much physical exertion in your state would be deadly."

He blinked. "Use your Crest, then."

"I can't," she protested, nodding towards her Crestless hand. "I lost it somehow." An idea came to mind. "Go ahead. I'm sure Yuma or Tori'll find me."

He agreed. "Alright. I'll see you soon then. Stay safe." With that he turned and continued on the path.

And she was still stuck, waiting for nothing.

She drummed her fingertips on the cold blue surface.

"Go on without me Kite," she mocked herself. "'I'm sure one of those stupid kids that never die will save me!'" She sighed. "In three hours. Why, Crest? Why must you fail me now, of all times?"

She hated this. Hated it, hated it, hated it. Hated being useless. Hated waiting for someone to rescue her like some fairytale princess.

Thinking about fairytales, what happened to Maxwell? Did Cahira have his soul as well as his number?

If she brought him back somehow, she'd just get rid of him again. Simple logic, right?

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?"

She looked upward. "Hi, Kotori. Can you just get me out of here already? I'm sick of feeling like some sideline cheerleader that needs to be saved."

She cringed inwardly. Good job insulting the girl who was saving you.

"You're welcome. And please, call me Tori," she said, the words mercifully flying over her head.

She pulled the rock, but to no avail. "Hm. Maybe someone else will come? I'm looking for Yuma."

Due mentally smacked herself. No doubt he was already down there. She would too if she had just let fate run its course. Too late now.

"Thank goodness! Shark, I need your help. Due's trapped under these rocks!"

Shark? Wait a second. She mentally cursed herself. She had had way too much fun poking fun at him back in the preliminaries.

"It's you. Quattro's sister," he spat, his voice coated in disgust.

"Uh huh. Can you just get me out of here? If the weight doesn't kill me, I'm sure boredom will. I'd say something witty, but I need your help and don't want to risk ticking you off any more than you already are."

He didn't blink. "I'll help on one condition."

"Oh, we're bargaining now."

"That you promise to clean up as many of Quattro's messes as possible. If you have any power left, use it to heal Rio."

Of all the things… Maybe he wasn't the heartless jerk she had always painted him as. "When I'm free, let's shake on it."

Tori and Shark grabbed the slab and pulled as hard as they could. There was a satisfying crack, and Due could finally move again. She rose and brushed loose rubble off her jacket.

"Thanks. Let's get going. After all, Kite's down there, and I bet Yuma is too."

Tori beamed. "You really think so? Then let's get going!"

Due was really starting to miss Orbital 7. At least he had a purpose and wasn't just a useless side character.

She ran her fingers through her hair, missing her Crest so very badly. She could have been at the bottom minutes ago.

She shook out her insecurities. She had to succeed in her first mission to herself. "Once I get to the bottom, any enemy I face will be good as dead."

 **Shark POV**

I wonder if she'll keep her promise. Could she? Maybe Due is more trustworthy than Kite.

A wave of pain traveled through Shark's arm. He grabbed his shoulder, seething in agony. He must have dislocated it when he moved the stone.

He wouldn't say anything. He wouldn't show weakness to Quattro's big sister.

He forced himself to continue running.

"You guys think we're close?" he wondered aloud.

"You asked that in the nick of time. We're here," answered Due ominously.

Sure enough, a giant foreboding metal gate opened the second his fist met it.

A gold floating platform sailed around the room. It came into the light, revealing the one and only Mr. Heartland.

"Welcome to the show! I hoped you'd stay longer, but unfortunately I have another guest to entertain. So just relax and enjoy what I have in store. It will be so wonderful, you'll never want to leave!"

Due narrowed her eyes. "And who might that other guest be, Heartland?"

He flew closer. Shark squinted, and he could just make out an unmoving figure behind him. He'd know that black coat and blonde hair from anywhere.

Heartland grabbed Kite's limp wrist, lifting him off the platform. "It's a shame I have to kill him now. It was so fun having him as my number hunter. But try as we might, he'd never survive the fall in his current state." He smiled, a ghoulish grin from pierced ear to ear. He drummed his free hand along the railing.

"Why you—"

"Take one more step and I let go."

Due growled. "If you hurt him, I swear I'll do the same to you."

"Temper, Miss Arclight. You wouldn't want to kill your boyfriend, now would you?"

Shark personally didn't care if he died, but Heartland was in his way.

"Hey, Orbital! Do something for once and help your Master!" Due commanded before he could do anything.

The white and orange robot shrunk. "I'll-I'll see what I can do. Ah ha! I ho-ho-hope he doesn't need that power source!" Cords flew from a metal panel and latched onto the outlet. "Disabling in three…two…one!"

Shark smiled thinly. Disabling the platform would mean that Kite would be victim of whatever Heartland had to deal with.

Heartland grimaced, but soon another smile inched onto his face. "If I'm going down, he's coming with me!"

He took something from his pocket and pressed a button. As he fell, the floor began to open up from beneath him. "Behold, the last natural portal to Astralworld! And while I'm gone, I may as well have my robots do their job. Litterbots, take out the trash."

Shark turned around. Hundreds—no—thousands of litterbots poured from the walls.

And each carried a scythe.

He readied himself for battle.

Due plucked a strand of hair and closed her eyes. "Please, please let this work. I need it." She opened them and looked at her hands. "Why won't you work?" She looked back at the horde of litterbots. "Wait a second. Destruction isn't connected to my soul, is it? Heh. I guess I've lost my soul once. It wasn't so awful. Fine then."

Her hair stopped obeying gravity. A blue flame enveloped her body. Alien-like markings appeared on he face and arms. Her once-aquamarine eyes now shined with gold.

"Destroy him and his robots!"

The flame stopped moving, and a strange silence came. Every last threatening litterbot turned to blue dust.

"Do it now, Orbital!"

It jumped into the air. Two seconds before the platform descended, it grabbed Kite's shoulders and landed safely.

"Hart… I can't… I have to get you it of there," the blonde and bluenette number hunter muttered.

Another sound. What was it?

It almost sounded like a laughing maniac.

"You may have passed the first test. However, you'll never defeat me. Not if my son isn't there to help."

"That voice could only belong to one person," Due whispered. "The one and only Doctor Faker."


	29. Chapter 29: A Much Awaited Revenge

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I swear this chapter was the probably the hardest one with a Due POV so far. Oh well. At least I'm doing better Cahira POVs. The past week has kind of been filled with Christmas and finals and procrastination. But it's finally finished! Shoutout to Daphadile05 for the favorite and follow.**

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Much-Awaited Vengeance

 **Past Cahira POV**

In each hand she carried poison. Dangerous poison that could ruin someone's life easily.

There were two kinds, of course. One for love and another for hate. Each equally powerful.

Only her most loyal servant would place them in the young king and his father's wine at the celebration tonight.

She lifted her head decisively. "Mariana," she commanded. "There is something I need you to do for me."

Her orange and blonde haired sister shook at her sudden speech. She adjusted the sleeves of her dress nervously. "And what is that, Cahira?" She clutched her necklace.

Cahira sighed. "My lord tells me that the only way to make sure that everything goes as planned is by influencing Vector and his father just the slightest bit."

She shrunk again. "You're listening to him again."

Cahira looked at her fingernails. "Yes. Without him you'd be a slave and I'd be a prisoner of King Amor. But with him, the tables have turned. This Vector guy, you see, I have no interest in. But he's just so useful. He's not a bad catch, either. So I need you to put this and this in their wineglasses tonight." She handed her the flowers. "The red is for Vector, of course. He's the one I need to marry."

Mariana nodded. "Okay. For you, I will do it. Just promise me that you won't let this demon lord take over your mind and soul. It'd be very dangerous."

As she walked away, Cahira remembered something. "Don't say that so loudly. There are eyes and ears everywhere. Why you remember the previous timeline is beyond me."

Cahira stared at Vector impatiently.

His armored hand curled around the bottom of the glass. He rose it toward his lips painstakingly slowly. Finally, he took his first sip.

He shook his head dizzily and thudded the cup back on the table. A loud clanging noise was heard. He blinked seven times.

She carefully examined each one. This was one thing she could not put to chance.

"I…" He wet his lips. "I have an announcement to make. I have chosen my wife. As of in six months, Vectoria and Dimensianè shall be united. This is final."

The party guests gasped. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Vector's father growl under his breath.

He rose from his chair violently. "This is quite the joyous occasion. Excuse my son and I as we speak in private." He forcefully grabbed his son's arm.

They left, with Cahira nothing to do but entertain the guests. "As they are gone, let us have a toast! To peace and unity!" She rose her glass.

Everyone else copied. "To peace and unity!"

She smiled to herself. Everything was going according to plan. But it would probably be best to assure things stayed that way.

"Excuse me for a moment. I have some business to attend to. Enjoy the feast as long as you desire."

She crept from the dining hall and peeked through a crack on the door.

"Who said you were allowed to pick a wife without my consent?"

"I believe I have the ability to bring our country to peace. This will be our first step in doing so."

The middle-aged former king's fingers curled around the hilt of his sword. "And who said anything about wanting peace? What if, for say, I'd have wanted a war? With the military we have, we could easily win any feud."

Vector gasped. "Are you saying you'd willingly sacrifice our people just for the sake of conquest? Forget it." He turned away to walk toward another door. "I'm going to explain things to my mother. Unlike you, she understands what I want."

"Bring that woman here. I must speak with her as well."

"Fine, Father," Vector agreed coldly.

Cahira could hear another voice questioning the situation. "I understand, but what is going on?"

His father grabbed the sword. He breathed heavily, the poison taking its effect.

His son and his wife returned to him hand in hand.

He let out a loud cry reminiscent of one of a warrior. "If you think that this country will ever be peaceful, you should die to attempt to keep it that way!"

She shut her eyes, but she could not become deaf to the sound of sword meeting flesh and the queen's last words. "You…shall not…kill my son."

She opened one eye just a peek. The gray carpet had turned red with the queen's blood.

The king shuddered one more time. "How did I miss…?"

His body fell to the floor, his hand entangled in her loose blue hair.

Vector stepped forward, an unpleasantly squishy noise appearing when he did. "Mother…Father…"

He collapsed to his knees. A single tear escaped his left eye. "How could this happen…?" He snapped his head upward, as though attempting to send a message to the two of them. "How could you both die? I'm not even a complete king yet! I was supposed to be a regent for another year! But now…" A sob broke his message.

Even if his father had just attempted to murder him, it was still a hard emotional blow to see both his parents dead in less than two minutes.

It was time for her part.

While he sat there, all depressed and broken, she was to go and prepare him for Don Thousand's control.

"Hello, Vector."

"Cahira?" He rose from the ground.

She tried not to look at the bloodstained splotches on his clothes.

"I saw everything. I think it serves him right for him to die. He did try to kill you, after all." She tapped his nose lightly. "And now that they're gone, you don't have to be a regent anymore. Let's rule the world together, Vector."

"I…"

"While it is true that one tragedy stuck, we do not have to dwell on that forever. From those ashes you can become strong. I know that's something you want. It's okay to be a bit insane. If it's payment for power, I can't find any fault."

He unsheathed his sword. He stared at his reflection, a crazed look in his eye. His lips slowly curved upward. "Maybe you're right."

 **Due POV**

"I destroyed them."

The piles of ash that had once been a threat sifted in the musty underground air.

She'd willingly sacrificed her soul. But she knew that with Vetrix probably dead, she'd be truly gone if she attempted to use those powers again.

"Due Arclight. I've been watching you since I discovered your relationship with my son. I don't care much for it, so perhaps we should duel, the fate of Kite assigned to the winner!"

She trembled with hatred. He really was the man Vetrix had painted him as. Cold, heartless, and willing to sacrifice anything to get what he wanted.

Kite opened his eyes weakly.

"Fine," she agreed. "I can get revenge for what you did to both my father and your son! But if you lose, I can't guarantee your safety."

He smiled insanely. "Good!"

There was a brilliant flash of light from the Sphere Field. An overlay-unit-like being flew from it and landed with a crash on the metal plated ground. It slowly formed into the shape of Yuma.

"No! We can't break the bond…. Astral, you idiot! You can't do this…" His fist met metal. "You'll die!"

Due raised an eyebrow. She hadn't thought it to be possible for him to be sad or angry. He was too busy "high-fiving the sky" and "feeling the flow." Whatever either of those meant.

Shark blinked. "Seems I won't have time to be bugged by you while dueling this Faker guy." He glanced with half-closed eyes at Yuma.

Well, there was at least one thing they could agree on.

"Faker." His wife red eyes narrowed. "You're the guy that took my dad from me."

Due nodded. "Here in the flesh. Why don't you stand aside as the big kids deal with him, okay?"

He gaped at her statement. "No way! I'm helping too, whether you like it or not. Besides, Shark's only two years older than me. How's that make him a 'big kid?' I have to fight Faker. For Astral and Vetrix and Kite."

"Did you say Vetrix?"

"Yeah. I dueled him in the finals. Before he got absorbed by the Sphere Field, he asked me to save his family for him. So that's what I'm doing!"

She smiled to herself. "Was that really what his last wish was? Strange. I would have thought he'd have asked for you to kill Faker or something." She turned to Kite. "You know, if you weren't half-dead, I might have questioned how genetics could be so kind to you."

He half smiled back. "Only you could figure out how to find something to poke fun at in a situation like this." He gently pushed himself off the ground. "However, your plans will be changed a bit. I'll fight him too. My father's going to pay for everything he did to Hart."

And everything that had ever happened to her family would finally be avenged.


	30. Chapter 30: A Deal With Don Thousand

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N Procrastination. My new worst enemy. Spend too much time working on other stuff, and you'll forget you're working on a fanfiction. On a different note, I was watching episode 13 and remembered how I preferred Kite in the beginning. He was so cool, being the mysterious being that would cause trouble. And it'd be a really bad idea to have a number if he's around. I'd like to keep my soul, thank you very much. Please review!**

Chapter Thirty: A Deal With Don Thousand

 **Maxwell POV**

Maxwell fell to one knee. "Who… What did you do?" He dug his fingers into his hair. "Are you the Don Thousand Cahira spoke of?"

 ** _"Yes, Maxwell. I am the deity lord she spoke of. And for the price of servitude, you may be one as well."_**

He shook at the strange feeling of the voice in his head. It almost had some kind of vibrating sensation. And each word seemed to exhaust him more and more. By the second sentence, he was already drenched in sweat. Removing his deep scarlet overcoat didn't help a bit.

He swallowed the pain and forced himself to respond. "And just how would I serve a disembodied voice? It seems rather difficult for me to withstand even this connection. Or will I get used to it? Cahira did try to explain, although it sounded rather confusing from her lips."

 ** _"You would serve me by doing what I could not in a sense. And in that, I would grand you great power. You would be the king of this timeline. I have tested this theory many times, and in each situation without you as my servant, you would still be a soulless husk. And if you say no, mind that your life is in my hands."_**

He processed this. This being was more cunning than any businessman he'd met in his life. He'd made the price seem small and bending towards his favor. Then, sly as a fox on the brink of death, he'd told him the large cost of saying no. If he refused, there was no promise that he'd live much longer. If he agreed, he had no idea what could possibly happen. What if he was exaggerating? He had no one to trust but himself. And he did remember the strange state he had been trapped in after his duel with Due. He hated the thought of being stuck like that again.

"If only I could shake your hand to complete the deal."

A great wind stirred about his feet. He could feel a kind of change. Red bolts of energy flowed over him. He squinted at the strangeness of it.

He opened his right eye a crack. He instantly regretted it, for when he did, it began to burn. Everything turned yellow for a second. The pain made it water, but even his tears felt searing. He touched his cheek gently, internally screaming when he felt the unfamiliarity of what almost felt like metal in a scar-like slit. And that wasn't the only new thing.

Every one of his senses had been severely heightened. He was conscious even of how his hair floated around his head.

The strange magic finally quelled.

Everything had reverted back to normal besides, strangely enough, the way his hair floated. Perhaps that was why Cahira wore hers in six purposefully low pigtails.

Pfft. He had much more important things to think about. Don Thousand had promised power.

Could that power be magic?

 **Cahira POV**

Cahira slammed her fist against the wall for the seventh time. Never had she felt so confused. Why hadn't her master reacted angrily when she failed to obtain Due's soul? Could he have already known thanks to another timeline?

She closed her long-lashed red-violet eyes, hoping darkness would bring her more happiness that the mess she'd made of the wall. Obviously it didn't.

Why couldn't it be like before everything got screwed up by the timeline skip? When she'd first been forced here, with the mysterious magic known as technology, and the strange idea that soul collecting now required winning a card game, she'd felt no less uncomfortable as a fish attempting to breathe air. Once she figured that out, she had to do everything more inconspicuously, what with cameras literally everywhere. Not to mention the fact that King Amor had scored as the seen leader of the grand city of Heartland. With Gauche and Delexandra as his subordinates and an army of robots. Just as in Dimensiané, few important people suspected his cruelty. But maybe, just as in her kingdom, that was because they were so darn rich. It made her want to hit something, but the cracked stone on the floor begged her not to.

A knocking sound came from the other side of the locked apartment door. She told whoever was there to wait as she quickly used a bit of magic to restore the broken pieces. She brushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to freshen her appearance at least a bit.

She twisted the handle. "Hello?"

Maxwell.

At least he had improved his look. He'd ditched the blazer and replaced it with a deep rouge vest and white three-quarter sleeved undershirt, and he'd combed and ponytailed his shoulder-length silver-blue hair with what looked like a red ribbon. There was major difference, though. He'd either somehow changed the color of his left eye or he'd made some kind of deal with Don Thousand. Could he have become a second servant?

In his hand he held a bouquet of pinkish red flowers, she same shade of her eyes.

It seemed as though it almost pained him to mumble under his breath, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings in whatever way. I'd much rather be friends that enemies, because that seems like it'd benefit both of us. Take these flowers as a token of our friendship."

She ignored him.

"Please. I wasted a good twenty dollars on you."

She grabbed the flowers, but she still hated them after what happened with Vector. "I don't like flowers. They bring back bad memories."

Maxwell frowned. "That's too bad. Mind telling me why?"

Her hand tightened around the handle of the door. "Don Thousand forced me to use flowers to poison a man and lead to a massacre of thousands. I know it was in his plan, but I still wonder what would've happened to my husband if he hadn't lost his mind. I got stuck here, so I haven't the slightest clue what's going on back in Vectoria. We were married for two years, and it killed me to have to leave the position of ultimate power and be some ordinary citizen living in two rooms with no way to increase my social status. It was like having my hair cut off or something. Really awkward with that feeling of longing for the past."

He sighed. "Is that why you reacted so strangely when I mentioned your love life?"

She nodded. "I'm surprised you don't have a fiancée."

He looked at his feet, hands balling into fists. "I did, but she ran away from the alliance. One other reason I joined Don Thousand was to bring vengeance upon her."

Cahira snorted. "You're saying that Due left you? Rejection hurts, doesn't it?" She closed the door. "We've had a nice chat, but I think I'll see you later. Hopefully we won't just speak of idle things."

She waited to hear his footsteps slowly fade away. Once they were finally gone, she let out a sigh and slid her back down against the wall.

If there was one thing she knew, it was that conversations shouldn't make you tired like that. She forced herself to stand. "A girl with godly powers shouldn't lose her breath over failing to speak with someone she hates."

 **Due POV**

Faker's body hit the floor with a dramatic crash. He closed his eyes, life successfully reduced to zero.

"Father," Kite breathed.

Due smiled upon their hard-earned victory. She removed her duel disk and gazer. "What a strange thing revenge is. I don't feel anything after finally doing what I've yearned to do for years. I've finished what my father started, and I don't feel anything… How could this possibly be?" She blinked longingly at her Crestless hand.

Yuma wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "That's 'cause revenge just doesn't bring satisfaction. It just kinda leaves you all cold and empty inside. That's why I duel for fun!"

Something hard and heavy whacked the top of her head before she could answer. Her eyes followed where it had come from and widened. "Um, if we're done celebrating, this place is falling apart."

The Sphere Field Cannon drifted downward, and Hart followed. His brother rushed to catch him.

With half-closed eyes, he smiled. "Brother! I'm finally free…"

A lone tear traced down his face. "You sure are."

Another large rock fell, and this time it was Shark who stopped the blow. However, it left his arm in a rather awkward position. She hadn't a doubt that after this he'd be stuck in bed for a week or so.

Orbital wrapped its "arms" around Tori, Shark, and Hart and took off by his master's command.

Kite himself seemed to have a different idea in mind. His eyes scanned over the destroyed room until they landed on Faker.

He couldn't possibly be serious.

The middle-aged man rose to his feet, muttering the names of his sons before the platform collapsed below him.

"Father!" Kite cried and jumped downward to follow.

"What are you doing? Don't you remember he tried to kill us?" Due reminded him.

He looked over his shoulder as he continued to progress downward. "That may be true, but then how do you rationalize your allegiance towards Vetrix?"

She had no response to give to that. Quattro had questioned her father's authority multiple times, but she'd never thought of his arguments. She'd been too caught up in vengeance to listen.

The man that had destroyed her life lay half conscious on a slowly deteriorating platform.

Both Kite and Due reached their hands for him, only one successful. Due tightened her grasp.

His eyes flickered open. "Saved by an Arclight… How ironic."

She turned away. "If I let you die, who knows what would happen to my boyfriend. He cares for Hart more than he cares for himself, and his little brother needs a father. I don't want him to end up like me."

He seemed touched and yet insulted at the same time. "I… I am truly sorry for what happened to Byron. I understand if you're hungry for revenge. Take it if you wish."

Not three seconds after he spoke, the ledge crumbled away.

She was falling. Falling as her father had all those years ago. And just as him, someone's hand had grabbed her wrist.

Kite's face twisted in agony as he struggled to hold both of their weight. He let out a gentle sigh when Yuma lent him a hand.

She grinned to herself, wondering how strange this was. An Arclight, a Tsukumo, and a Tenjo all working to save Doctor Faker.

But they were just dangling. They weren't even close to being able to escape. If what Yuma was holding fell apart, they were good as dead.

A strange light came from there, and none other than Vetrix materialized from it.

A tear escaped Yuma's eye. "But I… I saw you die! How are you even here?"

He lifted his unmasked face after wordlessly smiling at the 13-year-old. The familiar light of the Crest shot from his hand like a bolt of lightning from a cloud. It gathered and hardened around the four of them.

Vetrix himself let out one of his signature childish and yet maniacal giggles. He silently let his gaze swipe over the four of them. He blinked to himself as though contemplating who would pass his test.

Faker gazed back at the endless chasm, knowing all too well what would happen. "Please, Byron. I know I wronged you. But my son and your daughter and Kazuma's son are entirely innocent. If you're going to kill anyone, kill me. Don't make them suffer for my own sins."

Vetrix glanced dismissively at him one more time. A smile played at his lips. The powerful bond that held them aloft finally broke.

Time seemed to stop as something stopped her descent. Something strangely nostalgic.

An overlay portal. Of course. She'd miss those.

Her father floated a few feet in front of her, gazing off into the distance. He turned around and she winced, still a bit unused to his half-galaxy face.

"That took bravery. I'm glad you possessed it, because if you hadn't, I'm not so sure Kite or his father would have survived."

Due smiled. "I guess it's a good thing I had that, then."

He smiled genuinely for the first time in years. The portal touched the other point in space and faded away along with him before she could say more. She shook her head to clear the strangeness.

"Byron… You forgave me… Even after everything…" Faker collapsed to his knees, tearing his already torn clothes again.

She looked up, squinting at the sunset. "Maybe the dimensional rift didn't entirely kill Bryon Arclight's soul. My father is a man of wonder."

Kite embraced Hart with another hug one last time. "You're finally safe. And there's no way that'll ever change." He kissed the top of his head.

Hart blinked, his bloodshot eyes looking finally rested. "Thank you, Kite." He fell asleep, but this time it seemed like it would actually help him.

She blushed. "Um, I hope it's okay that I called you my boyfriend. It just seemed like the best argument back then, so…"

He held her hand with his free one. "Don't even worry about that. You're fine."

She faced him with another grin. "Great. But now what? It seems like the end."

Yuma interrupted their moment. "It's not over yet! The winner of the World Duel Carnival gets one wish granted. So I think I'll use it to get what I've really wanted. I want to duel you, Kite. No souls or anything attached! Just a one fight."

 _Is this the same kid that beat Dr. Faker and my father? What a stupid waste of a wish!_

Kite blinked at the request. "I don't have a reason to duel anymore. Now that Hart's safe, I've got nothing to duel for."

Yuma frowned. "Come on! I promise you won't lose too badly!"

"Fine," he sighed. "But you'd better make it quick."


	31. Chapter 31: Tying Up Loose Ends

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I'm finally getting back into the swing of this! I'm hoping that new chapters will come sooner now that I've finally gotten my inspiration back. Thanks for 2,000+ views. As this is my first story on Fanfiction, I'm really proud. Please read and review.**

Chapter Thirty-One: Tying up Loose Ends

 **Quattro POV**

I curled and uncurled my fists. I took three deep breaths. I'd never had the time to apologize to Rio, but now I could.

Adjusting the beige vest, I questioned my choice for the seventeenth time. Was it a good idea to visit her? I was the one who'd hospitalized her in the first place. Was I just speaking to her to make myself feel better?

No. I was going there to apologize. Nothing other than that.

It was rather strange to actually go somewhere without making a portal. Even stranger to ride the metro. I'd never had a time where I'd been around any fans of mine without pretending to be someone else.

The brunette girl I had met at the Finalist Ball held onto a pole nervously. She waved one gloved hand while adjusting her scarf with the other.

I wasn't in the mood to be artificially kind.

"Hi, Quattro. I'm a really big fan…" She looked at her shoes. "You're busy with something, aren't you? I guess I'll just meet you when you're less busy then."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "You seem like a big fan, so you should know a lot of stuff about me already. If it's an autograph you want, I don't have a pen."

She shook her head. "No. What I wanted was to ask how your duel with Shark went. I mean, I put two and two together and understand you lost, but I don't understand how. You're the greatest duelist in duel history!"

"Oh." I moved my gaze to my tie, still nervous about what I'd be doing. What if Rio didn't even want to look at my face after the incident?

"And also, why do you hate him so much? Is it because he cheated in the Nationals? I apologize for asking all these questions, but I'm curious."

"I… Well for your first question, I guess I would say that it's because I miscalculated his strategy. And for the second…"

A loud beeping noise interrupted my stalling. It signaled the hospital.

"That's my stop. I have to apologize to someone. In fact, I should have done that a while ago. I'll see you at my next championship."

She brushed her hair behind her ear and whispered a farewell.

The automatic doors opened as I stepped toward the entrance. The cold air rushed forward, catching me by surprise. It'd sure been a while since I'd been to a hospital. And when I burned myself in that fire, I'd had a slow and painful healing process at the abandoned hotel, stuck in bed for months. It had been the worst part of my existence. The feeling of being entirely useless and unable to even speak with the high possibility of being in that state for longer if I tried to be useful was the worst I'd ever had.

A strawberry-haired nurse led me to Rio's room, but not before adding that she'd been in this state for months now.

Regret and guilt weighed heavily on my heart.

I swallowed again. "I don't really know why I came here. I could have just left, but no, I had to apologize." I smoothed my vest. "So I'm here now. I guess I want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you. To this day, it's the thing I probably regret the most."

She smiled, but I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not with the blindfold over her eyes.

I hoped she was. This was becoming awkward, and I wanted nothing more than to leave. But I couldn't do that until at least one loose end I'd left was tied.

Her chapped lips parted. "Are you…the person that started the fire?"

She was awake after all.

I looked away, upset that was how she remembered me.

Actually, that was all she was conscious for. So of course that's how she identified me.

"Why did you do it?"

"I…" Was she trying to pry? "Because I was told to!"

"You haven't changed since the lay time we met, have you?"

"Well neither have you!"

The instant the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

"And who's to blame for that?" she poked back.

I am. I'm the one that ruined this innocent girl's life. I'm the one that almost killed her.

"I didn't have to save you. I could have left you to die, you know."

She turned away. "True, but if we'd never met, neither of us would be in this situation. And if it weren't for my big brother, I would have been fine if you'd left me to die!"

Her hands reached for her blindfold. She unwrapped the bandage, revealing red-violet eyes, the same shade as mine. The color was so perfect for her. Strength and bravery were two things she quite clearly possessed.

"That's better. It gets boring, seeing little more than darkness 24/7." The eyes I liked so much widened when they saw the scar. "Is that from the fire?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And there's much worse on my back. But you don't have the permission to see them."

She brushed her fingers through her hair. "So why'd you choose today to apologize?"

I crossed my arms defensively. "I haven't been available till now. Why do you need to know?"

"I don't know. Am I allowed to be curious?"

"You're not allowed to force me to give you information you don't need."

She adjusted the blankets, laying herself back down. "Then I can keep my current state of health a secret. I know you want to know, but I can't think of a reason to tell you. Don't visit me again. I think you and I know how taxing this has been to both of us."

I started walking to the door. "I came to apologize, but I guess you can't thank the person that almost killed you accidentally."

Why'd I even save her? If it hadn't been for my own stupid mistake, I'd never have been even relatively part of this mess.

 **Due POV (one month later)**

Due squinted at the night sky. It shouldn't be possible, this wide star-filled kaleidoscope. Each little sun glimmering thousands of miles away. She tugged the collar of her snow jacket closer to her face, coating her nose with much-desired warmth. She was increasing glad she'd agreed to visit her older brother and her boyfriend, but that didn't change the fact that they were in the middle of Antarctic nowhere.

She rubbed her gloved hands together, regretting the idea of laying and looking at the stars. It was far too cold for that. But before she left, she had to find her favorite constellation.

Orion. She didn't really know why she loved it so much. Maybe it was the recognizable shape or the perfect line the three stars in the belt made. Maybe she just liked it because she didn't know what any other constellations looked like exactly. Thinking about it now, it was probably all if those.

Quattro, the only one who hadn't come by choice, sat down beside her. He smiled, crossing his arms behind his head. With his left hand he pointed out his own favorite constellation.

Well, it wasn't a real constellation. It was just a patch of five stars that happened to be shaped like his scar. Or you could ignore the middle one and see a card. Either way, he'd always liked that one. Maybe that was destiny playing some kind of cruel joke.

"If you're so intent on finding a constellation, there's one right there."

She frowned. "No, that's just a patch of stars. No matter what you say, it's not."

He shook his head. "Jeez, calm down. Maybe one day I'll make it official just to piss you off."

She whacked him upside the head. "Don't you even dare. And just think of the hassle it'd cause. 'Quattro Arclight buys a constellation! What could this mean for society?'" She mocked Mr. Heartland, doing the greatest impression of him she could muster. "And speaking of Heartland, that's one guy the world's so much better without. Seriously, how did no one notice that he was working for an evil mastermind? No sane man could dress like that or have such stupid catchphrases without having at least some bad intentions."

"Now that I can definitely agree with. It's sickening that I served him for so long, being entirely conscious of the fact that he was the one that tore apart my life."

Due turned to face the former number hunter. "Hi, Kite. Join the party."

He sat on the other side of her, fingers interlocked with hers.

She fingered her coat with her free hand, aimlessly searching for another zipper or button. "By the way, what's your favorite constellation?"

He looked surprised by her question. "I've never really thought about it. Carina, maybe?"

Quattro huffed. "If you're looking for that, it's right by those two other clumps. See the zigzagging curl? Right there."

Due nodded. "That's a good one. It's cool how it's kind of a part of the two other parts next to it, but still separate at the same time. Unified, but independent too."

"Don't boost your ego. We all know you're trying to make it sound like some symbolic thing about you."

If the Crest had given her the power to kill with a look, he'd have been dead ten years ago.

"Don't—you can't—I wasn't—" she stuttered angrily. "This is why I never invite you to anything. Besides, how'd you figure that out?" she whispered in his ear, pushing a great deal of maroon hair out of the way before she could do so. How'd he even get so much hair? Even as his twin sister, she was entirely clueless as of how.

Kite smiled at the warring siblings. "I think I'll go back to working on the project."

Due immediately let go of the back of his coat and the ball of snow she was holding.

"No! You can't leave me alone with him! Wait, Kite! No!" she cried, overdramatizing. She shivered again. "Dagnabbit, it's so cold."

He wrapped his arms around her for a good twenty seconds. "Better? You should return to your room, if you know what's good for you."

She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Fine. It's your fault we're in the middle of a frozen wasteland. You could have picked anywhere else, but no," she grumbled to herself.

She lay on her bed, eyes half-closed. She waited for sleep's warm grasp to take her.

 **Maxwell POV**

Maxwell had gotten used to his new life. He understood its benefits as well as his missions. And it was pretty nice to be able to do literally anything. He was even still able to manage his company. The only thing was that he had had to always wear a ponytail to keep from looking strange. He'd hated how everyone had questioned it at first.

Another strange fact was that when he dueled, he wore his duel gazer on the opposite eye, and it didn't change colors when he did.

No matter.

 ** _"Maxwell. Cahira. I have a mission for both of you."_**

He massaged his forehead, the messages still painful even after a month of service.

" _And that is_?" Cahira mentally asked.

That's right. He'd forgotten the group mental connection. Maybe it was because they rarely used it. Oh well.

"Hello, Cahira. Fancy speaking to you like this."

" _Shut it, Pegasus. I don't need your sarcasm._ "

"And I yours."

" ** _You two have to work together. There is someone that is breaking the balance between the worlds. It cannot be forced open yet. You are to find the ones responsible for this. I think you'll enjoy a taste of vengeance, yes? Due just happens to be in the same place as the meddlers as of now._** "

He raised an eyebrow. "Due, you say? I'm interested. What's her connection to it?"

" _He didn't tell you? Her boyfriend and older brother are the meddlers. Pfft, if you couldn't figure that out, you shouldn't work for a Barian deity._ " He could practically see her smiling one of her smug little grins to herself. " _Plus, I don't have any problem with any of them. Why do I have to join him_?" she complained.

" ** _I would send a minor Barian, but they have proven far too incompetent for Due Arclight._** "

" _But I beat her so easily! Why's she so dangerous_?"

Maxwell breathed deeply through his nose.

" ** _It is not her dueling strength, but her magical strength. She must be eliminated before she reaches the next phase of her power._** "

He frowned. "I thought she lost all the power she had when the Crest's hold broke."

" ** _She has far more power than either of you realize. If she discovers that, everything we have worked for will be obliterated. She will attempt to reset the timeline, and if she does that, you will lose your powers. And I believe Cahira understands what will happen if the timeline resets._** "

It seemed she did.

" _Where must we go, master_?"

" ** _Create a portal, and link its destination to Due. Now go. This has gone on far too long already_**."

" _I'll do it before you can say, 'Barianworld._ "

A portal opened next to him. Cahira gestured him to follow.

He tilted his head. "So…Why d'you want to be a part of this mission? It doesn't seem to concern you in any way."

She shook her pigtails out of her eyes. "Let's just say that if we go back to the original timeline, I'd go back to my original time and original social status." She shut her mouth decisively and refused to talk any more about the subject.

The air in the place they landed was much colder. Maxwell stepped forward, his foot sinking into two feet of snow.

He grumbled to himself, hating his lack of preparation.

Cahira slapped his arm. "Give yourself a jacket, you idiot. You're got those powers, so you may as well use them."

He mentally kicked himself and did as she suggested.

"Got any idea why they'd pick here?" he wondered.

She shrugged. "Maybe it was to torture us."

"But she doesn't know that I'm still alive."

"Well, screw you and your stupid logic."

They continued the long and painful trek through the snow. He didn't know what he hated more. Her, or the weather.

A building-shaped blob finally appeared in the distance. He could have kissed it.

They broke into a run, sprinting at an inhumanly quick speed.

Thank Don Thousand for magic powers.


	32. Chapter 32: Icy Fire

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I thought about using a duel here since I finally learned how to play, but no matter. This is much more epic.**

Chapter Thirty-Two: Icy Fire

 **Due POV**

The sound of knocking was what Due woke up to.

She grumbled to herself, wondering who could possibly be at the door.

Two middle-aged men in what seemed like post office uniforms greeted her.

The first seemed nervous about something, and the second squinted at her like she was a specimen to dissect.

"Hello? I don't remember ordering anything. What are you here for, exactly?"

The first one tugged on his cap. "We, ah, you see, were going to deliver some things to some people in America, and our plane got wrecked in a snowstorm. This was the closest thing we could get to civilization from where we landed."

The second one sniffed. "Real shame. No doubt we will get fired after this mess-up." He shook his head. "Ah well. Mind if we stayed here 'til the storm dies down?"

Due grimaced. It sounded like a trap. Well, as long as she watched her back, she should be fine.

She looked over her shoulder and yelled for Quinton, explaining the situation. He walked in a half-conscious manner to the doorway and she laughed internally. He always looked like a drowned cat in the morning.

He rested his hand against a wall and slowly blinked with half-closed eyes. "There's a guest room to the left," he yawned.

The first one nodded. "Thank you. I'm Carl, and he's Matthew, just by the way. I'm deeply sorry for not saying do before. And please excuse my friend's speech. Japanese wasn't his first language. Mine either, for that matter."

He pushed his glasses up his nose and walked to where Quinton had drowsily pointed.

Due shook her head and went to make them two cups of coffee, knowing they'd want some. She brushed her hair into a messy side ponytail and made herself look more presentable to her guests, pulling the black sweater over her head. She drummed her fingernails tirelessly along the cream-colored wall.

She entered the guest room with three cups of coffee in hand. Two for her guests and one for her brother.

Each took them gratefully.

After Carl had had a few sips, he poked his friend with his elbow. "Can we get this over with already? We need to leave as soon as the storm dies down."

Matthew crossed his arms behind his head. "'Kay. Due, you say your name is? The weather's a bit better, so I think we can go now. But would you mind walking us out?"

She nodded. "Sure, why not."

The delivery man smiled. "Shall we, then?

 **Past Cahira POV**

Vector smiled maliciously to himself, tapping his chin with his free hand. "What a plan you've come up with. In fact, I may just have to base everything I do around that. Again, I'm so glad I picked you over all the other young queens." He shoved the end of the knife he held into the center of the map, cutting through the hard wood under it.

Mariana, who had been quietly listening in the corner since Cahira had brought up the idea of world conquest, moved to pull it out.

Vector quelled the action by waving his hand. "I'll get it myself," he grunted. "It's more satisfying that way."

Her head bobbed up and down and she shifted back to her corner.

"So, the Naschian Union, yes? After all, it is the one empire that decided to unite its surrounding countries. Without it, there'd be a civil war, and all those little kingdoms would be ours for the taking," she added, twisting a lock of hair with her index finger.

"Conquest it is."

The outline of the Naschian Union finally came into focus. With three Gorgonic beasts in tow, they wouldn't ever see what hit them. They'd be turned to stone before they could even attempt to fight back.

Vector kissed her cheek and gestured towards the back of the ship with his armored left hand. She followed, relaxing in the lounge area she'd had the servants build for her husband and she.

She rested her chin in her hands. She blinked her half-closed eyes at the people. Run, she thought. Go tell your king that today is the day that all of you will die.

"The view is certainly breathtaking. It's a shame that it'll be destroyed," she remarked.

His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. "Yes. A shame it is, but a much grander empire will rise from its ashes. And it'll be ours for the keeping!"

A Gorgonic beast arched its long back over them, extending its neck as though it wanted something. Cahira scratched its chin, and it made a pleasureful gurgling growling noise.

She squinted at a little boy on the dock. He froze in fear, both physically and literally. His gaze moved to the eyes of the Gorgonic beast, and seconds later he was no more than a statue. His mother, who'd foolishly held his hand before he changed to stone, continuously failed to pull her hand from his suddenly cold and marbled grasp.

Cahira used a bit of her power to amplify her voice just the slightest bit. "To all the citizens of the Naschian Union, prepare for your new king and queen!"

She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the military.

"Where are you, great King Nasch? Perhaps if you come now, we won't kill everyone!"

"What are you afraid of?" Vector added. "It's not like the survival of your country is in your hands anymore!"

Her sharp red eyes squinted. She could just make out the king, looking at a loss. Maybe that was because his sister had discovered her destiny. Good thing a specific corrupted water spirit needed to be purified. One that they just happened to control.

The priestess of the kingdom stood at the edge of the water, closing her maroon eyes, and crying for what could never be. She'd never grow old, or fall in love, or do anything anymore.

Nasch looked at his people and instructed them of what they needed to do.

The soldiers and monsters battled on and on. But what a shame that it was like mice and men. By the time his losses had stacked higher than one could count in a considerable amount of time, they'd succeeded in killing no more than two of the serpents.

Halfway through the battle, a silver-haired knight had entered in a rather flashy manner on his flying horse.

It seemed that not even magic would assist him at this point.

Cahira laughed at his hopeless situation. "You think some petty shields will stop us, the conquerers of this world?"

He ignored her taunting. "These shields are different. They have the power to repel whatever demon you brought back from hell."

She highly doubted that.

"Even if that is true, there's something you didn't add to the equation. See, remember Abyss? The spirit that you counted on to firm this union in the first place? Too bad he got corrupted. After all, there's only one way to purify it. And I think your sister Merag knows exactly what must be sacrificed."

The young king's gaze moved to where he pointed. His eyes widened.

"What'll it be? Your people, or your sister? Save one or save many? The choice is yours."

Another ship reached the opposite side of the port. Three royals of another kingdom dashed to reach the other side, madly ignoring the warring parties.

"What's this?" she wondered aloud.

The blonde and maroon haired prince wore a rather large amount of bandages around his side and another collection over his left eye. He rushed past everything with who she assumed to be his sister supporting him.

He collapsed as Merag's feet. She gasped at the strange change if events.

She didn't seem to have any medicine on her, she she resorted to the next best thing. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands against his bare chest wordlessly. Perhaps she was healing him out of habit. One could never be sure.

Once done, she stepped off the dock and plummeted to the whirlpool before her with a final set of words.

"If I can't live on, then at least let someone else live in my place. I'm sorry it had to end like this, Nasch."

He fell to his knees, heartbroken.

The battle raged around him still. The odds began to dip in his favor, but he didn't seem to care. The grand palace's barricades were broken, and he just sat there. The grand flag of his union tore to shreds, and he did nothing to change it.

The princess of the unnamed kingdom collapsed. She lay motionless. Perhaps the war was too much for her.

No matter. All she knew was that the Naschian Union now belonged to the Vectorian Empire. And what was more satisfying that the feeling of knowing that you controlled half the earth?

 **Cahira POV**

We've got her in the perfect spot. She'll be entirely alone, and blissfully oblivious until it's too late.

She formed a blade between her fingers. Maxwell did the same.

They stood at the doorway to the plane. "Thanks again. If you ever need anything, just give us a call."

She grinned. "That goes for you as well.

Time slowed. She squinted as though she was conscious of the change.

It sped up, and each loyal servant of Don Thousand held a blade to her throat and her heart.

Her eyes narrowed.

"We'll make a deal. You give us half of your soul, and we won't kill you."

"Only half?"

Cahira nodded. "Only that much is needed. It's the half your Crest once replaced."

And without it, she wouldn't be able to gain a new power. Her soul wouldn't be strong enough to withstand it.

Due swallowed. "Never." She pulled a strand of hair and willed a bit of her soul into it. "I've never used the power of Destruction on a living thing before. Wonder what'll happen?"

Cahira laughed. "Like you'll ever be able to make that work on me! I'm the one that granted you that power, and I can take it away just as easily."

Maxwell gripped his sword tighter. "And we'll kill you before you can even try." Sweat rolled down his disguised forehead. "Right, Cahira?" With his free hand he adjusted his glasses again.

"That's right."

Due scowled. "Who's your new friend?"

Maxwell and Cahira moved back, swords in hand. They rushed towards her on both sides. Cahira leaped into the air and let gravity add to the force of her slash. "That doesn't concern you!"

Due fumbled with the buttons of her jacket, producing a dagger from the hidden pocket. "It doesn't, now does it? Speaking of concerning…"

She thrust it at Maxwell while he was looking away. It embedded itself in his lower arm. However, instead of blood, a smokeless black fire burned around the wound.

He clasped his arm in pain and surprise. "Why aren't I bleeding? What's going on, Cahira? He told me I was still human after I made the deal!" With a good pull he yanked the blade from his arm and closed his hands around the hilt. Liquid metal trickled through his bony fingertips. He winced when he didn't seem to feel any pain from doing so.

Cahira fired three arrows from her fingertips. She grunted softly, shaking her head in disbelief. "You think that measly human bodies would be able to withstand all this power? No, we're nothing more than empty vessels of power. Well, except for our mind and soul. And the rest I'd rather explain to you once she's dead." She pointed to Due with her thumb.

Maxwell said nothing, staring at the cooled metal on his hand that now formed some kind of unorthodox glove.

Due smiled to herself. It looked like the perfect time to strike.

Well, she would be doing that any time soon, now would she?

No, she'd be powerless before she could exploit that.

Cahira engulfed herself in a scarlet flame. It was too damn cold for any heat-based attack. Or water-based, for that matter. Not much longer until it wouldn't be like that anymore.

She gathered the water vapor that she'd formed and the fire around her in separate hands, then brought them together. "When two warring elements are put together by magical forces, it creates a blow stronger than anything made by nature! This will be your end, daughter of Chaos."

Due closed her eyes. "I hope not. That'd be rather unfortunate."

She braced herself for the blow that would surely be the last she'd ever face.

Cahira grinned to herself. "Goodbye—WHAT?! HOW THE HELL DID YOU SURVIVE THAT?!"

A strange translucent lavender shield surrounded the girl. Cahira came to wonder if she'd done the reverse of what she'd tried to do. What if in her vain attempt to end this quickly, she'd awakened the powers Due had inherited from her mother?

Due shook her head, surprised by the strange new power. "Well. This is new." She pointed at Cahira, and a beam that would have killed any human shot from her index finger. She grinned and pointed at Maxwell as well.

He cried out in anguish, covering his discolored eyes. "Please don't hurt me! You've made me suffer enough, haven't you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How's that so? We've never met."

He narrowed his eyes. "We have, and trust me when I say that you won't be causing us trouble much longer." He snapped his head towards Cahira. "She's too powerful. We need to gain more strength so that next time she won't be so lucky."

She paled. Wordlessly she formed an overlay portal. She knew fully well that this was a mission that she never should've failed. They'd been left off worse than when they began.

The timeline she'd been promised would now be destroyed thanks to her own mistake.


	33. Chapter 33: Daughter of Chaos

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I was going to put the Rosalind part as a separate fic, but I had too many good ideas for her backstory to do that. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I'll try to make sure the next one is longer.**

Chapter Thirty-Three: Daughter of Chaos

 **Due POV**

Due tightened the blanket around her neck. "Can anyone tell me why this happened?" she asked, gesturing to the symbol one her hand. She didn't mind it much, as it did seem to grant her power and it was the best replacement for her Crest anyway.

Trey, who'd been asleep during the events of earlier, shrugged. "Could Cahira have activated it? Maybe you had it already and that attack awakened it somehow."

Kite crossed his arms. "That's probably it." He raised an eyebrow. "I think Quinton knows why I believe that."

Her elder brother blinked. "What do you know, Kite?" He had his I'm-serious-and-if-you-don't-tell-me-I-will-see-to-making-sure-you-die-a-painful-death face on, so he obviously meant business.

"Let's say a certain robot identified Due as something other than human. The same goes for you and your brothers. Every Arclight save for Vetrix."

Due tightened her grip on the blanket. "What do you mean? We can't be Barians, could we?"

Quattro grimaced. "Oh, hell no. That'd be awful."

Due touched her lips self-consciously.

"I didn't finish. It detected traces of Barian power as well as something other. But the Barian part isn't necessarily connected genetically, so we can't really be sure." He cleared his throat. "It's possible that your mother was either a Barian or an Astral being."

The four Arclights sat in silence for a good thirty seconds. For one, that would explain why their mother was taken from them and why they could use Barian power. The two worlds had been at war since Barianworld had been formed in the first place. And according to Cahira, Barian power was too strong for a mere human to possess.

Quinton was the first to break the silence. "How long have you kept this from us?"

"I learned in the World Duel Carnival Semifinals. I glossed over it, thinking it was from your Crests. Only just recently did I have Orbital reexamine each of you make sure."

"So there's a chance that we're fighting our own race," Due realized darkly.

Her twin shrugged. "So what? Just 'cause we might be half Barian doesn't mean that we have to help them. And Cahira and her friend didn't have any trouble with attempting to kill us, so I don't think there'd be any hard feelings if we didn't help them."

 **Past Rosalind POV**

She had to escape. She would never allow herself to be chained to her world. And what they wanted to do would most certainly result in that.

She ran, past the great citadels, past the great illuminated towers, past her twisted fate.

She shook her long white-blue hair out of her eyes. So what if they'd detected chaos. It wasn't her fault that she'd become like this. The mouthless silver man in black was behind this.

She'd trusted him. He'd been so kind to her, teaching her how to use power that was so much more satisfying than the "perfectness" of useless light manipulation that was supposed to let them achieve their so-called rank-up. She'd learned things that one of her kind would rather die than speak of. And for some illogical reason, she was now what they categorized as "corrupted."

Not even perfection is without its flaws.

Those were his last words to her. And now that she understood them, Eliphas had finally detected the Chaos in her soul. Had she left any later, she would have been long dead.

The waves of the endless ocean licked the blue shore. A gentle breeze stirred the air. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air.

The last natural gate to Earthworld lay deep under the waves. No one would ever look for her there. There she would finally be free. Free if the warring worlds, free of power, free of Chaos.

She took a deep breath and took her first step into the water. As she progressed downward, she realized just how stupid it'd been to run away in a nightgown. The water was far colder than she had expected.

One thing she could say about being underwater was the strange feeling of weightlessness. Nothing could weigh her down now. Nothing whatsoever.

Forty-two brilliant balls of light swirled in a grand circular passage. She counted. There were many portals like this in Astralworld, but she knew that they all led to the main citadel. Well, all except the forty-second.

She swam through, eyes sealed shut.

A bright light blinded her, and she lost consciousness.

She woke to the sound of skin hitting skin loudly. Had Eliphas slapped someone?

That's right. She was no longer his prisoner. She was in Earthworld now.

She lifted her head off the unfamiliar surface she lay on.

An Earthen young man greeted her when she opened her eyes. He seemed about a few years her senior, and he had medium-length dirty blonde hair tied neatly in a braid on his left shoulder. As for his clothes, he wore a mint-shaded dress shirt and long white pants that flared at the end. An Earthen contraption rested on the bridge of his nose. He had almond-shaped eyes that were so gold she almost wondered if he'd changed their color somehow. It was an interesting style choice, but he pulled it off nonetheless.

"Sleeping beauty finally wakes," he said jokingly, holding a cup filled with a steamy brownish liquid. "You've been unconscious since I saw you. I was worried for your health, but it didn't seem like it was that severe. And here we are."

She squinted at the cup.

"It's tea," he explained. "Haven't you had it before? Or are you a foreigner?"

She took the cup and sipped a bit, dropping it when the fluid burned her mouth.

The material shattered on the tile flooring. Tea splashed from the ground and flowed through the grooves in the floor.

He frowned for a second, but he immediately willed it away. "Uh, I'll clean that." He pulled a square of fabric from the pocket on his shirt and let it absorb the spilled drink. "What's your name? I'd rather not keep calling you 'girl I found unconscious on Rosalind Street.'"

Should she tell him her true name? No. New world, new identity.

"That's my name. Rosalind, I mean," she answered, already liking the sound of it much more that what she used to be called.

He pushed the object on his face up his nose with two fingers. "How ironic. Were you named after it, or one of Jupiter's moons?"

"The latter. My parents really liked astronomy," she lied. Her knack for storytelling was finally becoming useful.

He held out his right hand. "Cool. I like archeology myself, but I've always been interested in space too. I'm Byron Arclight, by the way. Nice to meet you."

She blinked at the hand until he moved it back to his side awkwardly.

"I don't really understand the customs here, but I'd really like to fit in. I kinda just moved here," she said, a bit embarrassed.

He nodded understandably. "Well, you're going to owe me two favors, but alright. By the time I'm done with you, everyone'll think you're a UK native."


	34. Chapter 34

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I apologize for the centillionth time for the late and short chapter. And it's mostly a big-reveal filler one at that. Ouch. I've just had major writer's block and have really cool ideas for when the Arclights get reintroduced in ZeXal II. So I decided to throw some in this chapter. It's hard to come up with what went on while Yuma was in the early ZeXal II filler arc. (That's what I call the part between episode 73 and 94. I actually got kinda bored with the stuff in that part and skipped one or two episodes, so I rationalize it as a filler arc.) Shoutout Ill elemental to for the favorite. If this fic gets ten reviews, I'll make a ZeXal wizard AU!**

Chapter Thirty-four: Allies in Crime (and Time, for that Matter)

 **Maxwell POV**

"What did you mean back there? How did it even happen?" Maxwell gasped, his arm still aflame.

Cahira looked down her nose. "Don Thousand used his power to change our useless human bodies into vessels of power. We don't look any different, save for our hair, and in your case your right eye. So when we get hurt to the point that would cause normal human to bleed, that power becomes visible."

He took this in. "And it was necessary for him to compromise our humanity for it?"

She sighed. "So what does it matter if our bodies have been compromised? We'll still live as normal people would. There's almost no difference. And I'm my opinion, it's a change for the better. Besides, isn't it great to never have to worry about death by serious injury or disease?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

He dug his finger into his hair. "I don't know. I'm not… I need some time to think about it. Maybe I should just get some work done so I have something else to think about."

Maxwell cleared his throat. "And how does this benefit me or the Pegasus Corporation in any way?"

The businessman frowned. "I…ah…well…"

He rested his elbows on his ebony-colored desk. "I don't take risks if they have no chance of helping me or my company. Get out of my sight." He used a bit of power to open the door ever so slightly.

The man snarled one last time, snatched his briefcase, and rushed out the door matter-of factly.

A sharp pain struck his head. He combed his fingers through his hair a few times.

 _How's work going for you?_

"You could have just asked me. You know where I live."

 _That's boring, though. Besides, I like the idea of you squirming in the middle of a business meeting._

He lifted his chin defiantly. "Good it ended before you called me, then."

 _Yes. Good for you._

"Refrain from that, please. You sound like a royal that came from the Middle Ages," he complained.

 _But I_ am _a royal from the Middle Ages._

"Point taken. Now stop calling me. I'm a very busy man, and I don't have time for this."

She stopped speaking to him.

The door opened, revealing another banker. "I'd like to speak about your finances," he said with a grin.

Maxwell frowned. "Let's end this quickly."

 **Mariana POV**

Mari fell to her knees. "Why? What stirred the evil in your heart so? What changed your ideals so greatly?"

Tears and blood mixed on the cold cracked stone. The hands of a girl no older than fifteen clenched the ends of her skirt.

Her elder sister looked down her nose with half-closed eyes. "If I am given orders, I will follow them."

Amber and gold hair obscured her eyes. "It's shameful for you to end it this way. Shameful beyond my words. I died before I could impact the world in any way.

"You're doing more harm than help. It was just far too pragmatic to remove you from the equation, anyway."

Mari lifted her face so her eyes met Cahira's. "If that is the case, let my death remind you of what you traded everything for in the first place. Do you even remember?"

"I serve none but Don Thousand and myself. Farewell, already."

And from that timeline she parted.

She braced herself for the feeling of death. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

Two soft hands rested on her shoulders. One was large and calloused, and the other was small with long spindly fingers.

A girl's voice whispered gently in her ear but one sentence. "We only choose those that are lost in the timeline to save it."

That opened her eyes. What did she mean by that?

Black hooded capes obscured their eyes, but she could still see the lower half of their faces as well as glimpses of their hair. Black lines that she assumed were supposed to represent tears of a sort trailed down their cheeks.

The taller one swallowed. "I wouldn't cloak myself in mystery if I didn't have to."

The girl fingered the magenta opal on her neck. She removed it, traced her index and ring finger over it, and closed her hand into a fist. With her free hand she grabbed Mari's chin and forced her gaze towards hers. The shadows still masked her eyes. She opened her hand, and in it was a copy of her necklace. She strapped it around Mari's neck.

She took a deep breath. "I'll just tell it to you straight. The timeline has been broken and spliced and rewritten so many times that it's impossible to know what will happen to it. Thanks to this, there are irregularities. Because your sister based her choice around you originally, you became one of those.

"My brother and I also fit in that category. In fact, I only exist in three timelines. The apocalyptic one, the one where everyone fights with magical wizard powers instead of cards, and the current one that we're in now. That's why you remember what happened before Don Thousand screwed everything up.

"And the necklace I gave you lets you travel between timelines freely. As of now, Don Thousand has influenced them so much with his servants and whatnot that there's none with a good ending on our part. Don't let it end how the apocalyptic timeline did. I'm pretty sure the universe destabilizes it something if two timelines are exactly the same. At the rate we're going, that's exactly what's going to happen unless you change it."

Mari closed her fingers around the chain of the pendant. "But what can I do? I'm dead, aren't I?"

The quieter one crossed his arms. "Kind of. Imagine that you're like a a video game character with infinite lives, but each time you die, you can never return to the exact place you died in. You have to relive it, and usually it's a little different every time."

She frowned. "I don't know what that is, so you must be from the future. I do understand what you mean in the most part, though. Am I the only irregularity besides you?"

"Don Thousand is one of them. He's more powerful than the others, though, since he can fabricate new timelines whenever he wants. And if he gets the Numeron Code, he'll erase us from every created timeline in existence. We irregularities would never truly be dead, we'd just kind of float in a chasm of nonexistence for all eternity. The only way any of us can truly die is if we do so in the original timeline. It's very different from where we are now. See, in every timeline there's one small difference that sets them apart. There've be centillions of alterations. But with the Numeron Code, that law can be overridden. So you can join our cause, or you can become a nonexistent being. Your choice." He swallowed and played with the chain of his pendant.

"I'll save this world. I don't want to live forever."

Mari said it with such finality and decisiveness that she didn't even have to wonder what would have happened if she'd chosen the latter. No matter how many timelines the timelines got altered, she'd never change her decision. Chains she hadn't realized were around her ankles shattered. A searing pain cut from the edges of her eyes, branding her face with what she assumed was the symbol of an irregularity.

"Welcome to the time screwery club, Mariana."

She lost consciousness. When she woke, she rose from an unfamiliar white bed in a building of glass that overlooked a city one could only dream about in their wildest of fantasies.


	35. Chapter 35: War of the Galaxy-eyes

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N It's been so long since I've written about a cannon duel. I forgot how fun it was. And now that I've dueled myself (I use Trickstars,) my duel scenes will be better and more realistic. If this fic gets ten reviews, I'll make a ZeXal wizard AU!**

Chapter Thirty-Five: War of the Galaxy-eyes

 **Kite POV**

 _Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon._

 _Galaxy-eyes_ Tachyon _Dragon_.

Galaxy-eyes _Tachyon_ Dragon.

It couldn't be possible. First, he'd never heard of an Over-One-Hundred-Number. Astral had explicitly stated that he needed the ninety-nine numbers to regain his memories. Where did the others come into play? Second, who in the heck did this man think he was? Some kind of god?

The blonde gestured a feathery gloved hand towards his own Galaxy-eyes. No. Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon was the true one. He was using a cheap imitation of some kind. He had to be.

"This battle has been in the cards since the before the creation of this world. I've waited centuries to to prove my worth and prove just how insufferable you humans truly are." His voice dripped with hatred. He licked his lips. "Granted, you're curious of why exactly. A disgusting thing your race is cursed with. If you haven't noticed, my power greatly exceeds anything you've ever faced before, and there's a reason behind that. The people you and your friends have sworn to stop? I just happen to be one of their Emperors. But enough of that. Let us continue this fated fight!"

Kite narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I play the spell 'Photon Trade.' By discarding a Photon monster," he pulled the corresponding card from his hand and placed it in his graveyard, "I may draw two additional cards and Special Summon Photon Thrasher thanks to the significant lack of monsters on my side of the field. I normal summon Photon Crusher, and I tribute both of these 2000-attack monsters to Special Summon Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon."

Due, who'd tagged along hoping she'd come across a servant of Don Thousand, whistled. "Nice move, Kite! Kick his butt for me, will you?"

He nodded. He moved his iron gaze back to his opponent. The existence of both Galaxy-eyes seemed to destabilize the Sphere Field. Shockwaves resonated from each of them. Those waves eventually tore the ground into a great crevasse reminiscent of the one in the Heartland City Capital.

"Thi-this is an incomprehensible phe-phenomenon!" Orbital 7 cried.

"I'd call this as rare as it is risky. Our aces have proved just what the legend foretold!" the Barian announced.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"A human such as yourself has no right to know."

Kite's fingers on his left hand curled into fists. "Maybe losing to me will change your mind. I attack with Galaxy-eyes, but by his effect, both are banished. Your dragon loses the last of his overlay units, and mine gains 500 attack because of this. At the end of the battle phase, both dragons are returned to the field." He smirked to himself. "By removing that last overlay unit, I've pulled out your dragon's fangs.

He sniffed. "Is that so? I activate 'Instant Overlay!' With this card you failed to destroy, my Galaxy-eyes regains the unit it lost. I use that unit to activate his effect, negating all other effects as well as returning all attack and defense to normal. Tachyon Transmigration!"

With no overlay units left, the dragon curled back into its more defensive form. Kite growled under his breath. The tables had turned out of his favor within one turn.

"Mind that Instant Overlay also grants him 1000 extra attack," the blonde Barian added.

 _He hasn't crippled my strategy entirely. Only a fool would depend on one way to win. "Lumenize" should protect Galaxy-eyes from whatever he plans to throw at me._

Visibly, he set a card and ended his turn.

The Barian beamed wickedly. "I activate 'Energy Attractor.' I do hope you weren't planning in using that trap anytime soon, because it's going to be used as a second overlay unit. But, judging by your expression, you probably were."

Kite could do naught but watch in horror as he continued to get outsmarted. Red beams struck his only means of protection, rendering it useless to him. Had all hope been lost that swiftly?

He pointed at Kite with a silver gloved hand. "Attack, my brilliant dragon!"

He hasn't effected any traps or spells yet. Perhaps that's the hole in his strategy?

"Tachyon Drive should put the final piece into place. That is, Tachyon Dragons can no longer be targeted by spell or trap effects."

 _Although they share attack, numbers can only be destroyed by other number. But even though my ace has been taken out, I will see this fight to the end as the winner._

In the crowd of spectators, Due crossed her arms. "This isn't possibly a fair fight. He's built a strategy that has no weakness whatsoever. And I have a feeling that that's not even the beginning of where his power stretches."

He smiled at her, and it sickened Kite to no end. "You're correct. If only your boyfriend could see that as well. And now, Tachyon Transmigration activates again! And because of Tachyon Drive, he gains 1000 attack and can attack again!" He tapped a bony finger on his lip. "You should feel honored to have whatever was left of your deranged hopes of winning crushed by my noble dragon's mighty claws! You held an adequate fight, Kite Tenjo. Tachyon Spiral If Annihilation!"

 _Not yet._

"You've failed your Galaxy-eyes once again. Be thankful your end will come swiftly."

Kite had not planned on failure. No, he was better than that. He hadn't forgotten the existence of Photon Specter, which had been sent to the graveyard via "Photon Trade." He understood that Tachyon Drive only effected spells and traps. And that gave him just enough room to undermine his foe.

"You may have created a strong—no—unstoppable offense, but you have little to no ability to react to the smallest of defects deep within. By Photon Specter's effect, I Special summoned Galaxy-eyes back to the field with no effects and 1000 less attack as well as the inability to get destroyed that turn. Therefore, I only took 2000 damage."

He looked stunned. In a dizzied stupor he ended his turn.

Kite glanced at the card he drew. He could turn this around.

"I activate Monster Reborn to revive Photon Thrasher. And I summon Photon Circle. To top it off, I activate Upshift, which changes all monsters on my side of the field to Level Eight, the same level as Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon." A blue weapon of a sort materialized in his hand, and he thrust it into the air as hard as he could. He was only minimally aware of the red aura that now surrounded him. "I Xyz Summon! Behold, Neo Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon!"

His opponent narrowed his eyes.

"Because I Xyz Summoned Neo Galaxy-eyes with Galaxy-eyes Photon Dragon, I may negate the effects of all other face-up cards. Photon Howling!"

The Barian stumbled backward. Well, as much as he could considering he wasn't obeying the laws of gravity at the current time. He could do little more than float and wait for the impact to come as Kite activated Neo Galaxy-eyes' special ability. He could only watch his life pints get cut in half. He could only feel karma finally returning to collect its debt.

And then he began to laugh. At first, it wasn't much more than a gentle chuckle, but by the end of it, it'd risen to something of an animalistic roar.

"You're good. I'll grant you that. But that should be expected of a Galaxy-eyes user!" He drew. "I believe two can play at your game. I activate Monster Reborn, calling upon the revival of my own dragon! The animosity between our dragons has only increased, so it seems only fitting more me to reveal my true form. It's been distasteful battling in a human disguise. Barian Battle Morph!"

He glowed with a light so bright, Kite had to shield his eyes with his arm. Once the brilliant show ended, his eyes scanned over the white feathered mask with the red accents, the green and gold Barian crest on his thin, bare, yellow chest, and the wrap skirt held very low on his torso.

"I'll show you the true power of Barian yet. Watch as I activate Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force, turning Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon into a Chaos Xyz monster!"

He prepared himself for what was coming.

"The power of Barian, born from Chaos, dwell in the Numbers to create a new Chaos!" He lifted both his hands toward the stormy sky. "Chaos Xyz Evolution! Surpass the eternal dragon's star! Chaos Number 107: Neo Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon!"

The newly evolved dragon rose its three flame-coated heads, roaring with all their might.

A Neo Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon.

The two dragons growled at each other, waves of electricity coming even more intensely now.

The Barian's red and blue eye widened. "There's too much energy! It should have appeared by now!"

Before Kite could wonder what he meant, the Sphere Field began to destabilize.

The yellow Barian reverted back to his human form as well. With one last glare, he said but one more thing. "We'll end this later. Remember me as Misael, the true Galaxy-eyes master! The next time we meet, your dragon will be mine." He crossed his arms in front of himself, and disappeared into a portal much like the ones Due and her brothers used to use.

The Sphere Field exploded. Kite fell, but he knew Orbital would catch him.

The explosion knocked Yuma off his feet, and Shark sprinted to catch him. Instead they both fell into the endless hole that the dragons had created. Due, who'd been testing out the powers she'd acquired after her near-death experience with Cahira and the other servant of the Barian deity, levitated, thereby avoiding falling herself. After she'd secured herself, she protected Rio and Tori from the same fate that their friend and brother had met.

"I've got them. You go save Yuma and Shark!" Due called to Kite.

He didn't need to be told twice. Swooping down at a breakneck pace, he reached his arm for Shark's outstretched hand.

 **Mariana POV**

Mari grasped the blankets between her fingers. How'd she gotten here? Was this an alternate timeline?

Nothing here was like anything she'd ever encountered before. Nothing other than the pendant the two mysterious characters had given her in between timelines.

She clutched it tightly. It was the only connection to prove that it wasn't a dream. That she was in fact an irregularity in time.

But that left her to wonder what she was supposed to do as a timeline rescuer. As far as she knew, Don Thousand was a demon that snuck into your head and forced you to do many evil things to get one thing that you wanted. It wasn't that she'd liked the idea of being sold into slavery in order for her parents to pay taxes, but it was still wrong for Cahira to have done all the things she did. But then…what if Cahira was the one she had to stop? She couldn't imagine ridding the timeline of her own sister. Even if she'd sold her soul to an evil spirit, her wish was made partially because she wanted the best for Mari.

She rose from the bed, cold air rushing around her bare shoulders. Even wrapped practically head to toe in white strips of fabric, as the traditional wear of servants in Dimensianè, she couldn't help but notice how different she was. Not a single person dressed like they were from her country. But since she had indeed traveled through time, that would make sense.

She looked to her left, seeing clothes piled in the corner. With no other things to do, she pulled the striped sleeves over her chilled arms.

"It's so cold," she shivered, leaving the room and walking down the long hallway.

She reached a flight of stairs, traveling down those as well. She collided with another person on those stairs. He had shoulder-length silver blue hair tied in a messy ponytail. He wore a white undershirt with a sleeveless dark red layer over it. Crimson ribbon tied loosely around his neck.

"Oh! &$#%!" he said in a foreign language she didn't understand.

"I don't speak your dialect," she replied.

He shook his head. "$#%& #, huh."

She blushed shyly and continued down the stairs. "I hope someone speaks Dimensianan here. It'll be kind of hard to find Cahira if I can't."

She'd learned bits and pieces of French and Naschian from Cahira when she worked as an indentured servant. After all, she had to speak the languages of those that she spoke to oversea. If only the necklace had gifted her the ability to speak all languages.

As though on command, the foreign letters on the pictures in the sky scrambled around and changed to words she understood.

Helpful, but I shouldn't rely on deus ex machinas like that to save me all the time.

She understood the danger of putting your trust in unstable powers. They could very well double cross you or fail when you need them the most. Cahira was a prime example of that. But in her case, she didn't care that she'd lost her soul to a power-hungry monster. She'd become one herself.

Maybe she could use her time traveling power to tell Cahira to decline the offer.

She looked into the bright yellow sun, shielding the brightness with her forearm. A gloriously endless combination of oranges and pinks painted the darkening sky. And skyward was precisely where the stars would be soon. She grinned to herself, wondering if it wasn't so bad to be an irregularity in time. If this was the future, then she liked the idea of staying here forever.


	36. Chapter 36: Evil

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N I wrote this about a week ago but forgot to publish it! Reviews are welcome! Shoutout to De Hearts 26 and brkaufman20 for the review and favorite!**

Chapter Thirty-six: Evil

 **Due and Cahira POV**

Cahira held a card between her fingers. A brilliant light shined from them, and when it faded, a rapier coated in a red aura extended from her hand.

Due narrowed her eyes. "Who are you, really?"

Cahira laughed. "I don't believe that that's any of your concern."

She dodged a quick jab at her chest. "And why would that be? For that matter, who's this Don Thousand guy anyway?"

The pinkette demigoddess leapt into the cold air, allowing gravity to aid her attack. She darted this way and that, striking repeatedly at an inhuman speed. "Again, that's none of your concern!"

This phenomenon was created by Cahira bending time to her will, slowing Due and speeding herself up ever so slightly.

Again and again Due winced as the small cracks in her barrier grew and became more plentiful. "I would think I'd have a right to know at least the reason behind your motives! It'd explain why you try to kill me every time we meet."

She spun away from another slash, time seeming to slow as she did so. Thanks to Cahira's manipulation, it was.

Cahira growled. "I used to, but she died by my own hand years ago. Now my only mission is to create a timeline where every odd dips in my favor!"

 _And once I have, not even Don Thousand himself will stand in my way. But in order to get there, I have to eliminate all elements that could damage my plan in any way_.

"Who's 'she?'" Due wondered aloud.

"Enough talking. You're wasting perfectly good energy on that," she responded in a teasing voice.

Due was well aware that in her current state she was far weaker than Cahira. She hadn't struck her once. She couldn't even use whatever magical armor Cahira used. She assumed that Cahira's power came from Barian, and hers from Astral, so it would only make sense that she could do the same things Cahira could.

But she wasn't that advanced yet, and it was costing her.

A familiar voice came from the left. The scream quelled their fighting.

Cahira rested her chin in her hands. "Well, this is interesting. To think that this child could house that being's soul while filled with that much darkness…"

Yuma grinned viciously at Vector. "So this is how it feels to have evil coursing through your veins." He pointed a black gloved finger at the silverette Barian. "And I have the perfect target to test it on!"

Due shook her head. Had Cahira baited her to fight so she would be unable to stop this from happening?

 **Yuma POV**

He raced up the steps that seemed never-ending. He'd somehow created a delusion where Astral was at the top.

Three wolves greeted him halfway, teasing him with his fears and inner demons. "What if he's not even there? And if he is, what's to say he's not still corrupted there too. It's your fault for lying to him, you know. You can only blame yourself for what happened."

Every time they slashed at him with their claws or bit into his flesh, he fell deeper into his sorrow. Who was to say that they weren't wrong?

 _Yuma. I believe in you._

A voice sounded from the walls. He lifted his weary head to the sound, but the wolves of doubt forced him back down.

 _Your quest won't be in vain, I promise. But you have to keep hope._

That's right. He had to keep hope and continue fighting. Even when struck with hopelessness, he had to continue on.

"You're right." He forced himself off the unblemished stone. "I'm saving Astral, and I'm going to bring it to 'em! If I give up now, both of us would have an unhappy ending!"

 _That's the spirit. Go save your friend._

He no longer felt any pain as the beasts attempted to harm him. Finally standing again, he took a step forward. The wolves didn't follow. Another step, with no result on their part. His confidence solidified, and his slow walk sped to a frenzied sprint.

Astral, back to his original color scheme, glanced out the stained glass window. He gazed at the endless array of light and sand with a quizzical, almost scheming expression.

"You've no right to even show your face to me after what you did."

Yuma hung his head. "I know. I'm sorry I let my new friend force me to lie to you. It was wrong of me."

Astral turned to face Yuma, a maniacal grin inching over his blue lips. "No, Yuma. Thanks to your betrayal, I've acquired a new power!" His skin inverted to black and red-orange. The change came gradually, like spilled ink flowing over a piece of paper. His gentle pale blue aura turned an ugly scarlet. "The power of evil!"

Tears spilled over. "Astral…" He looked back at the corrupted alien and ran towards him, wrapping his arms around his bare chest. "Astral!"

He gasped and narrowed his eyes. Black inky tentacles shot from his fingertips.

Yuma sobbed, tightening his grip. He shut out the destruction of the room around him.

A pillar shattered. The impact threw both of them through what was once the stained glass window.

 **Maxwell POV**

Maxwell bit into his lip. He bit it hard enough to draw blood, but there was none. He pulled his hood down, obscuring his face as well as he could.

How long was he supposed to stand here, silently observing the Barian reincarnation of Cahira's past husband? And furthermore, he had to wonder if the silver Barian Emperor had been sane all that time ago. Come to think of it, what was time, in actuality? Was there a selected "current time" or something like that? Being a servant of Don Thousand had messed with his perceptions on everything.

He squinted. Cahira had stopped her battle with Due, and she was just sitting there, watching Vector. What was she doing?

His conscience reminded him that because he was a demigod, he could figure that out.

 _Cahira smiled. "Vector. It's been a while, hasn't it?"_

 _He narrowed his eyes. "Do I look familiar to you?"_

 _She cursed under her breath. "Yeah. My master introduced me to you a while back."_

 _He nodded and bowed in mock respect. "Pleased to make your acquaintance again, then."_

 _She curtsied. "Be thankful I came when I did. If I hadn't arrived, Due would've been the one you faced. And I believe you know just what a threat she is. Her power is far greater than that of a Barian Emperor."_

 _"I'll agree with you. And we may as well chat, because Yuma is bringing his own demise upon himself." He rested his head in one hand._

Maxwell raised an eyebrow. What Vector said was true.

Cahira laughed at something Vector had said.

He rolled his eyes, his dislike for him increasing by the minute.

He couldn't exactly place why, though. Maybe it was the comparison of their work ethics. Or maybe he didn't like his rather psycho personality. Perhaps he reminded him too much of Due's twin brother. His scars from his duel in the Carnival hadn't quite healed yet.

He pledged his return under his breath. "Prepare yourselves, for I will be back. And when I am, it will already be too late."


	37. Chapter 37: Return of an Ally

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC.

 **A/N Finally a single-POV chapter I can release that I'm proud of! Due will be be using a burn deck for now on. It's what I know how to write best. Hopefully my duel chapters will be better now that I know how to play the game. Reviews are always welcome! They really make my day. Shoutout to javonn919 for the favorite!**

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Return of an Ally

 **Trey POV**

Trey fingered the hilt of the blade. He knew the weapon choice was strange, considering all of the technological advances in the past three hundred and fifty years. It had long reach when it came to swords, which made it impossible to hide. It was lightweight, which meant it would break easily. It was much slower than any modern weapon, making the choice utterly impractical. But none of those factors mattered to him, because he wouldn't be using it for long. Just enough to momentarily apprehend the fiend he knew he'd meet.

 _I'll fix everything that I've done to him. For every time I wronged him, I will protect him that much more. He's going to need all the help he can get._

"Michael?"

His sister's voice broke his silent pledge to Yuma.

"I made tea for the two of us. Your favorite." She grimaced at the two teacups in hand. "I swear these things are just waiting to shatter. In fact, I heard the first time Mom had tea she threw the glass on the ground."

He blinked.

She tentatively took her first sip. "You know, I feel like we only ever talk over tea. And I don't even like tea."

He shrugged. "That's what Dad did with his friends, so I'd guess it's a genetic thing, maybe?"

Her hand grasped his. "You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened back then. You did what you thought you had to do for us."

He swallowed. Had she gained the power of telepathy, too? "I know. But I still wronged him, and I have to make up for that."

She eyed his weapon of choice. "I understand." She wound her finger around a lock of hair. "How's Chris' bracelet working out for you?"

He grinned, blushing a little. "It's been great! I kinda got used to having all of the powers father gave me, so it's a good replacement."

"Who'd think that science would allow us to use magic?" she wondered aloud. "Rather contradictory, if you ask me."

He shrugged again. "I was wondering if you could help me build a good deck for whoever I have to face."

She looked surprised at first but then nodded. "Alright. But just remember that your success survives on powerful combos and strategies. As for me, I built my deck to dish out 2000 points of damage every turn without the use of the battle phase, and building a strong offense with seventy billion spells and traps. It's fun to play, and in my opinion, a lot smarter. By playing on the defensive, you have a lower chance of taking damage. And with high-attack monsters, you don't have to worry about your monsters getting destroyed. The only issue is when your spells or traps get negated it when you draw a bunch of strong spells and traps and no more monsters. I know you prefer a strong offensive, mostly, though, so maybe that's not the best for you. You don't like leaving things to chance. Now that I think about it, Thomas and I seem to use the same strategies. But I'd never play Gimmick Puppets, since I can't stand their design." She shuddered.

He was acutely listening, his eyes scanning busily over the card text. "I'd relied so much on my numbers that everything I have seems so useless now." His shoulders drooped. "How am I supposed to use a strategy based around something I don't have anymore?"

"That's a good question. But just remember that Xyz cards aren't the only things that can be good. Remember all of the duel champions that existed before Xyzs were developed. Like when I used to use a Dark Magician deck. It used Fusions and all that."

His eyes widened. "That's right! How did I forget?" He rosed from his seat, rushing to his closet. In it were Extra Deck monsters that Due had gifted him years ago. He'd cherished them until the creation of Xyz monsters. He still remembered that Christmas day when he'd hastily unwrapped his only gift.

The orphanage he, Isla, and Thomas had lived in for three years was a good one. Nothing like those in movies. Miss Karinn, a kind young woman in her mid twenties, believed that orphans should have a right to get gifts on Christmas. She bought everyone a gift, even though her pay was rather low. She knew very well just how much the Arclights loved dueling.

Eight-year-old Trey's nimble fingers carefully undid the ribbon and removed the tape. He knew it paper could be reused and had no intention of tearing it. Quattro, on the other hand, treated the paper as though he was a lion eating its meal. And Due mimicked her youngest brother.

Each gift was no wider than eight centimeters, and no longer than twelve. Each sibling had a small idea of what it could be. Each were not left down.

Granted, it wasn't a Chronomaly card. Nothing close to that. He didn't care; the thought was enough.

He wrapped his short arms around Miss Karinn's waist in a thank you hug. At the time, he'd thought it childish. Now, he knew just how much it meant to her.

The extra deck monsters he currently possessed were old classics. Things like Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem and Junk Warrior. Thinking about it, these could be of use to him, thanks to all the Tuners and Fusion cards Due had given him over the years. In fact, he didn't have to use Chronomalies at all. He built an Ancient Gear deck long before he'd collected enough cards to make a complete Chronomaly deck.

Deck in hand, he retreated from the closet. Due raised an eyebrow. "Found what I was referencing?"

He nodded. "I did."

"Then go aid your friend. He'll be completely helpless without you."

He nodded. "I'll see you once I've defeated Heartland."

He waved his hand, the bracelet causing a reaction strong enough to allow him to transport him through space.

Sword in his hand and old deck in his pocket, he climbed to the top of a statue, watching Yuma and Heartland from above. From there he could clearly see someone else up high, but he didn't recognize him.

Heartland whispered something in Yuma's ear. The thirteen-year old hung his head. He reached for his cards, preparing himself for a fight.

 _I won't let him battle that monster by himself._

He leaped from the statue, throwing his sword toward Heartland. The man dodged, but it was enough to throw him off balance.

Trey himself landed on the ground between friend and enemy.

"Trey!" Yuma cried in surprise.

He lifted his eyes from the ground, half grinning. "I knew you needed my help." He rose from the ground. "I'll become your sword and shield!"

Heartland gathered himself from the shock of almost getting impaled.

"And this comical fly is nothing!" Trey added, pointing at his foe.

He liked insulting his enemies, because that made them seem way less frightening. Also, it was a bit of a guilty pleasure for him to say such cruel things. Normally, he took pride in his kindness.

"You're interrupting the conversation Yuma and I were having." Heartland flicked his wrist. "This should deal with you!"

A swarm of small bits of power flooded from his staff. They reminded him of insects. Maybe the insult had inspired him. But even Barian power was no match to the Crest bracelet Trey wore. He lifted his arm, an image of Vetrix's Crest projecting itself before him and becoming a shield. The small insects dropped like flies. Funny since that's what they were.

The tall green-haired man recoiled once again. For a second, Trey almost felt bad for him. Just one shocking moment after the other.

"But…how are you doing this? The seal of his Crest was broken months ago!"

Trey nodded. "It was…until Chris figured out how they worked and returned our power."

He collapsed, stunned.

Yuma smiled. "That's great, Trey."

The pinkette turned to face the younger boy. His expression softened. "I heard what happened to Astral while researching Astralworld. I'm so sorry. I know that I'll, never replace him, but you're my first friend. I can't ignore your sadness. In the past, we almost killed each other in our battle. Now we'll fight side by side as friends."

There was a short silence. Then Yuma reached for his deck box on his waist, pulling out two cards. "Speaking of Astral," He choked on the name. "He would have wanted you to have these. He would have wanted me to split their power with my friends."

Chronomaly Machu Mech and Atlandis.

How funny. He hadn't even brought his Chronomaly deck with him.

He took the cards anyway, smiling. "Thanks, Yuma.

He could still use them, though. He was pretty sure he had a few high-level Ancient Gears.

The man that Trey had seen earlier leaped downward from the statue he was standing on.

"Ready?" he asked. "If you like, I'll take you both on at once."

Trey smiled. "We could both beat you on our own. But if you insist…"

He called the petal-edged duel disk to him arm. The familiarly cold metal plating slid over his arm. His orange duel gazer glittered over one eye, turning that eye red. He motioned for Yuma to mimic him, which of course he did.

The strong-looking man grinned. "We'll start this duel with a field effect. You see, I get to take half your life points, and add them to my own."

A strange eight-pointed symbol flowed on the ground, forcing Yuma to his knees. Trey, however, withstood the pain, remembering how much worse it was when Vetrix granted him his Crest powers. Those magical chains had burned the symbol of the Crest into his body, permanently granting him a power too great for an ordinary human to possess. And the consequences were high.

Nevertheless, he couldn't dwell on that. He had a duel to win.

He watched his life points reduce to 2000, narrowing his wide emerald eyes. "That's dirty!"

Heartland twirled his staff in his fingers. "Yes, but that's a detail we can gloss over. It's not something we have to care about, now do we? Right, Semimaru?" He grasped Tori's chin while proceeding to poke Caswell's stomach with his staff. "It's your problem now."

Semimaru wasn't listening. He was too busy changing—no—mutating—into what Trey assumed was his Barian form. Insect-like wings hung from his back in a cape-like manner, and his now nonexistent mouth curled into a hideous beak. He spread his arms, a second wave of power flowing from his loathsome body. Thankfully, it missed Yuma and he. A Heartland bust wasn't so lucky, and its likeness mourned its loss.

"Be careful, will you? You're damaging flawless artwork!"

Yuma bit his lip. "I don't like this."

"This must be his true form," Trey noted.

He braved himself. This man may prove to be more threatening than he'd thought.


	38. Chapter 38: Deciding For the Future

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N Mariana because why not? This one was super fun to write. Please review! They really make my day!**

Chapter Thirty-eight: Deciding For the Future

 **Mariana POV**

Mari grasped the railing of the suspension bridge, wind whipping around her ginger-and-blonde-streaked pigtailed hair. She gazed with half-closed eyes at the drowning sun. The wide spectrum of colors danced across the dusky sky.

How long, she wondered, had she been in this world for? Would she ever be able to return home?

Probably not. Only Don Thousand could build new timelines with variations he desired. Perhaps that was why some people were irregularities like she. By eliminating one from a timeline, they could not be a bother to him there. But once they were so, they gained a new power. Perhaps that was why the female irregularity had such great power. At least, that was what it seemed like. She had, after all, granted Mari the power to travel forward, backward, and between timelines. But that raised a question. She knew Cahira had requested Don Thousand to build a timeline more to her liking for her, but that didn't make Mari an irregularity. What timeline had Don Thousand created that did not include her? Did she really pose such a threat to him that he would eliminate her from the equation altogether? And lastly, she lacked complete understanding of how twin timelines would be the undoing of everything. Don Thousand was a being of Chaos, so she assumed that was what he desired.

She watched a group of teenagers around her age laughing together about something. Jealousy rushed through her. That and a bit of sadness. They hadn't a care beside their education. Thinking of education, perhaps she could attend the school they went to. She'd learn a lot about this world that way.

One of the teens said something funny, and the others doubled over in laughter.

Why, she wondered, had she been chosen to suffer?

 **Trey POV**

Their humanoid adversary smiled, a frightening thing that turned Trey's blood to ice. "I'll take pleasure in tasting your memories, boys. And no one likes things that take too long, so I'll keep this short and sweet by attacking first. I summon Oily Cicada. Because I possess an Insect-type monster, I may special summon Dream Cicada from my hand! I activate its effect, which changes the attack position of Oily Cicada."

The yellow exoskeleton of the monster cracked open, releasing a purple mist. The mist faded away, revealing a less menacing Oily Cicada.

"When Oily Cicada's battle position is changed, I can use it as two overlay units. I use Dream And Oily Cicada to build the overlay network! Appear, Number Three: Cicada King!"

Trey gasped quizzically. "Number Three?"

"I don't care what you believe, boy. This is the true number three!"

Yuma squinted. "It's in defense mode."

Then it must have some kind of dangerous effect. That's usually how it goes, anyway.

He looked at his hand and grinned to himself. This should be perfect. "I summon Ancient Gear Wyvern!"

The dragonlike creature raised its head and narrowed its mechanical eyes.

Yuma squinted. "Ancient Gear? Where're your Chronomalies at?"

Trey smoothed his coat. "I brought these since my Chronomaly deck relied on Xyz summoning Number Six and Number 33. I had no idea you would give them back to me. But anyway, back to the duel. When my Wyvern's normal summoned, I can add an Ancient Gear monster to my hand. And with that I'll activate 'Ancient Gear Fusion' using Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Wyvern, and Ancient Gear. I Fusion Summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

He smashed his fists together as the three monsters fused behind him. He beamed once again. With 4400 attack points and an unbeatable ability, this duel would be over in no time.

" _Fusion summoning_ ," Yuma muttered to himself.

"I'll attack your King Cicada with Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem. And even though your monster was in defense mode, you're still taking damage due to his effect!"

Semimaru didn't flinch. "Effect, you say? Then I'll detach an overlay unit and negate that effect. And because of that, Cicada King gains 500 defense points. And don't forget that you just used your only attacking card and utterly wasted your battle phase. Only a number can destroy a number."

 _My hand has nothing that I can use now. The best I can do is use this._

"I end my turn."

Yuma looked downward, deep in thought.

What're you thinking about? Might it be Astral?" Heartland taunted, twirling his staff between his fingers.

Yuma growled under his breath and yelled at the man to shut up. He ignored the boy, explaining how insects tend to annoy people. That's why they were called 'bugs'.

He drew, summoning Gagaga Magician. "Because I summoned a level four monster, I can special summon Kagetokage from my hand. With my two level fours, I'll Xyz summon Number 39: Utopia!"

"You've summoned your ace," Semimaru muttered. "Too bad it won't be here for long."

Yuma ignored him. "Now that he's in play, I'm activating the spell Reservation Reward. It lets me add a Quick-play spell to my hand, and I can activate it this turn! Now go, Utopia—"

"Stop, Yuma! He'll negate Utopia's effect, which means that Utopia will be destroyed and you'll take 1000 damage!" Trey exclaimed, stopping his friend from making a foolish decision.

"It's a good thing your friend bailed you out like that. Turns out that without Astral, you're simply a mediocre duelist at best," Heartland taunted.

 _Yuma, please remember. The bonds you forged in past duels will leave you strong. With them you're never alone. In the past, I took Astral away from you. I'm still having trouble forgiving myself for doing that._

Semimaru drew a card. "I activate Cicada Illusion! When a monster I control is switched to attack position, it gains attack equal to its defense!

Trey's eyes widened. "So that's why it was in attack position! But that means…" He gasped. "That must be what he meant earlier!"

"Yes, it is. Let's end this now! I attack Utopia with Cicada King!"

Trey's eyes widened, but eventually returned to his field.

The destruction of Utopia stirred a huge cloud of dust, covering everything around Yuma.

"Not so fast!" Trey shouted, tearing a card from his field and smashingly into his Graveyard. "I activate my own quick-play spell! Ancient Gear Protector can make sure that Yuma doesn't take any damage this turn. All I have to do is send him straight to the Graveyard. And when he's activated, he can't be targeted by monster effects.

Yuma blew a tiny mushroom cloud and wiped sweat off his forehead. "Thanks for the save. I thought for sure that I was done for!"

"I did say I'd be your sword and shield, didn't I?" the Arclight said with a crooked smile.

He looked downward. "Yeah. But in a normal duel, you wouldn't be there to save me like that." He glanced back at Trey, red eyes watering. "But the truth is that without him, I'd still be using Gagaga Magician as my ace and telling my opponents I set a trap card. You remember how that duel between the two of us ended. Without Astral, Final Prophecy would have turned the world into a portal to Astralworld." He lowered his head, and a lone tear traced down his frowning face. "Without him, I'm nothing!"

The fact that he was using their duel as a way to prove his worthlessness twisted the knife already lodged so deep in Trey's heart. "Yuma…" Trey's hands curled into fists. "That's no where near the truth! I've seen you duel, and I know that Astral wasn't the one that made you love dueling so much. You alone made that choice. Remember when I asked where your power came from? Can you remember what you told me?"

He forced Yuma's gaze toward him. "You said to never give up or stop trying. 'Feel the flow and go for it!' I think you should try taking your own advice."

"Never give up or stop trying…" he repeated. Feel the flow and go for it…. I did say that, didn't I? And I guess that if we don't beat this guy, I'll never get back my friend's memories. Let's beat this guy, Trey!"

Trey smiled. "Yeah. And one other thing. Call me Michael. It's what those closest to my heart call me. I think that's a good enough reward for my first and best friend."

The boy nodded.

Heartland pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. "How sweet. But let me remind you that you can't beat Semimaru."

"You won't, indeed. I activated Cicada Destruction, a trap that deals the attack of one Cicada monster to all three duelists in just one turn. I needn't worry, but you on the other hand…"

A weak "Yuma," behind Trey made both boys turn around. It had been Tori who'd said it. The others sitting next to her followed, blinking with their empty eyes. It was frightening and yet encouraging at the same time.

"Even without their memories…how?"

Trey narrowed his eyes. "They may have forgotten what was in their minds, but not in their hearts! I'm no expert, but I think that's what true friendship is. You can stop diminishing us, because we're ending this this turn!"

Yuma looked at Trey. "Yep! So I'll activate 'Release, Reverse Burst!' By discarding an Xyz monster, I can destroy all spells and traps on the field! Now, because I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Gillagillancer! Michael will take 500 damage next turn, and I will gain 500 life points. For now, though, I'll set a card and end my turn."

Trey smiled. "I'm normal summoning Ancient Gear. Because his—"

"Negated with Cicada King's effect."

"That's just what I hoped you'd say! I activate De-Fusion. With all of my old materials on the field, I activate Power Bond! Meet Chaos Ancient Gear Golem! Because his attack was doubled, I take that much damage this turn. But that's no matter."

"I'll just negate its effects, too!"

Now he's used up all of his monster's overlay units and my Golem could be targeted by spells.

"To top it off, I activate Limiter Removal, doubling his attack again! Finally, I attack Cicada King with Chaos Ancient Gear Golem!

Semimaru's life dropped to 0.

"We beat him!" Yuma exclaimed.

Trey wiped sweat off his forehead. "Yeah. You know, you were the one that activated that trap to turn things around. Without it, I don't think we would have won."

Yuma was acutely listening, his attention drawn to his now completely safe and conscious friends.

That was good. This was a hard earned reward for him, and he deserved it after all of this heartbreak and loss.


	39. Chapter 39: Loyalty

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N More Mariana! And now a possible future… Also…Link Summoning! I just hope it makes sense. Rereading my chapters about time travel remind me of Kingdom Hearts with how convoluted it is. Oh well. I apologize for the long wait, but this one I think was worth it. Thank you, winterwolf1873 for the follow. Shoutout to Tesla-Voltage for the review, follow, and favorite! Anything featuring the Arclights is most certainly worth my time. I don't really use fanfiction for communication, so I won't be PMing anyone anytime soon. I'm glad you enjoyed my fic so far! And for those with questions about this fic, review them and I'll answer! Please review! They really make my day!**

Chapter Thirty-nine: Loyalty

 **Mariana POV**

"We have a new addition to our class today," a tall man with brownish magenta hair and a futuristic contraption on his nose explained. "This is Marie Hikari."

She blushed shyly, hoping the name she'd chosen wasn't too strange. She couldn't exactly walk around and say who she really was. After all, she and Cahira shared a last name, and it this world's past, Cahira was a Dimensianéan princess. That wouldn't make much sense.

"I'm very pleased to meet you," she said, ever thankful that her pendant had fixed the language barrier.

"Why don't you tell us about yourself, Marie?"

She adjusted the beads holding up her pigtails. "I'm new to this country. I just moved from an third-world country's orphanage to here. In fact, I only learned your language a year ago. There wasn't much where I lived, so I taught myself how to speak Naschian, Gaulish, Dimensianéan and Numerian. I'm really street smart, I think. I'm very obedient to those close to me and those I trust."

The class silenced. Had she said something wrong?

"Gaulish?" someone asked. "Does she mean French?"

"Naschian and Dimensianéan? I don't think even nerds speak that anymore."

The man called "Mr. Kay" put on a nervous false smile. "Why don't you go sit next to Reginal. He's the one in the back, with the curly purple hair.

Reginal waved. His eyes pointed towards the table he was sitting before, reading over scribbles on a very flat white slab.

She pulled at her skirt and sat down next to him without a word.

 _Barians want numbers why?_

 _Where is next MN?_

 _Why did Durbe say that?_

 _Connected to Abyss' mind tricks?_

He scratched his forehead, sighing to himself. He pushed downward on another strange mechanism, and put the opposite tip on the slab. To her amazement, a black line came from the edge.

She'd heard of some of the terms on that slab, though. Durbe was the best friend and strongest non-royal ally of Nasch, king of a great union. But the time difference between now and then were far to great for either of them to meet. As for Abyss, she'd heard of the water deity from her sister. He had peacefully guarded the waters of the Naschian Union until Cahira discovered how to corrupt his soul. It had taken the life of Nasch's sister, Merag, to complete the process of his purification.

However, she noticed that it was impolite to speak out of turn when in what was called a "classroom" unless told to do so. She assumed that included speaking to Reginal about what he'd written.

The time passed quickly, and Mari worked as hard as she could to soak up all the information she heard. She'd just about started to understand the basic concepts of "pre-calculus" when a startling noise rang through the air. She jumped in her seat, wondering what could have caused the sound. No one else moved, and a few people giggled under their breath at her. She blushed shyly and sank back into her chair.

She watched as Mr. Kay dismissed his students, and when his gaze landed on Reginal and she, she rushed to the exit as she'd seen the others demonstrate.

A strong arm caught her wrist.

"Who are you, really? No real student would be that interested in calculus. Are you a Barian or something?" accused Reginal.

She didn't answer.

"Talk to me, damn it!"

She blushed again. "I thought it was rude to speak out of turn until our instructor tells us to do so?"

He sighed. "Just answer me."

He led her past students in multiple shades of blue and red, until they'd reached a wide coliseum-shaped area. It didn't look like anything special.

Should she tell him the truth? He did seem to know Durbe and Abyss, so they would have probably been enemies in the past. Then again, this was not the past.

"How do you know Durbe and Abyss? The former died years ago," she asked.

His grip tightened around the ladder he was leading her up. "What? I just faced the guy in a duel two weeks ago. He couldn't be dead."

A duel? Then they were enemies?

Wait. What if he was an irregularity too? That would explain how they met. Only one way to find out.

She combed her fingers through her hair. "My real name is Mariana Millennium. Younger sister and forced enemy of Cahira Millennium. I came here to stop her from destroying the equilibrium of the universe so that I and the other irregularities don't have to live forever. You said you met Durbe, the great master of the winged horse. Did you travel back in time to meet him? I've heard irregularities can do that."

This time it was his turn to be surprised. "You're talking about the guy from the legend. You knew him back then?"

She nodded. "Yes. Cahira killed him before I jumped timelines."

"Then it's true they reincarnated as Barians." He held out his left hand. "You said you're undermining Cahira and Don Thousand? Those two do connect to the Barians… The enemy of my enemies is my friend."

She grabbed his arm as he'd done earlier. "Alliance it is."

He made a face. "After Yuma teaches you how to be a normal human being, that is."

The second he said the name, the boy in question appeared from the ladder, five other people in tow. "Did someone say my name?" He wiped sweat off his forehead in a carefree manner.

Reginal nodded. "Yeah. Seems we've got an off-balance time traveler."

"Did you say time traveler?" Yuma's jaw hit the floor.

"That's what she claims."

One of Yuma's followers glanced over Mari. It was the short one with a thick green machination on his tiny nose and a strange-looking hat. He narrowed his ginormous eyes with a cheeky grin. "What's your name, miss?"

She froze for a second, debating which name she should use.

"I'm Mari," she said with finality. He wasn't in her grade, so why lie? Besides, the only difference between Mari and Marie was the extra e.

His smile widened again. "Alright, Mari. I assume you like music, no? How about a trade? Your rarest card for these tickets!"

She squinted at the tiny flat colored slabs he was waving. "I don't know what any of those things are," she said.

This time his jaw hit the floor. "She's joking!"

"Should I know?" she asked.

The scholarly bluenette one smiled. "No. In fact, he's probably mad since pretty girls always outsmart his scams."

The grey haired cat girl's hair stood on end. "Are you saying that I'm not pretty?!"

He waved his hands in front of his face at a high speed, quickly denying his exclusive statement. "Ah—no, Cat—I didn't mean—uh—I'm sorry—you're beautiful—agh!"

Mari narrowed her eyes. "Is she a cat person?"

Cat—or at least that's what Mari heard he name was—made little claws with her fingers. "Someone respects what I live for!"

Mari smiled shyly. "You're welcome?"

Yuma glanced over his shoulder, reaching for something stored in a pocket on the back of his long blue pants. "I can't believe you don't know what cards are! Let me show you."

He placed three different colored slabs on the floor. "These are called 'duel monsters cards.' Cards for short. There are three kinds: Spell, Trap, and Monster." He pointed to the brownish orange card. "See the stars on it? That means how many levels they have. You can only summon up to level four without tributing. AKA sending one or two to the graveyard based on the level of the tribute monster. One for levels five and six, and two for seven and above."

She nodded. "That makes sense. Like in order to gain a great power, you must make sacrifices."

"Uh, yeah." He grinned. "Something like that. Well anyways, the graveyard is where you put spells and traps after they're used and monsters after they're been tributed or destroyed in battle or card effect."

Reginal leaned leisurely against a red pole. "You, know, this isn't the most necessary information. She doesn't even know what paper or glasses are. Isn't that more important to know?"

"I know. But dueling's pretty important too. She's trying to defeat the Barians, and that's pretty hard to do if she doesn't know how to duel."

Reginal brushed his hair behind his ear. "Whatever you say, Tsukumo."

Summoning methods… She wondered if the future had new ones.

Actually, she could learn. Who knew what the future of now could have in store? If she could use the supposed powers the other irregularities said she had, then she could discover so many things. She could potentially have infinite knowledge.

She shut her eyes, thinking of the more distant future.

When she opened them, a wide smile spread from ear to ear. Tall widow-covered buildings tore at the sky while thousands of sparkling lights attached to giant boards advertised and showcased duelists of impossible appearances riding on multicolored mechanical boards on a pastel blue and violet storm of pixels.

"Link summon!" Shouted a girl on one of the screens. The two flower-themed fairy-type monsters rose from her field and spun into two different triangles, creating a white flash. Once gone, a new monster appeared in their place.

Mari beamed. "A new summoning method…" She wanted to ask exactly what a link summon was, but she was far too shy to ask the person next to her.

He seemed to notice her curiosity. "Haven't you ever seen a link summon before?"

She shook her head.

"I'll explain it then," he said, shaking cerulean and white hair that reminded her of upside-down fire out of his catlike hazel eyes. "Depending on the requirements, you can summon a link monster from your extra deck. They don't have any defense points, and the little arrows that they have point to where you can link another monster to them. Right now she's got a Link-2 with one monster attached to it. Because they're like that, the one in the link zone can't be destroyed due to the other card's effect. Got it?"

She tugged at the beads in her hair. "I think so. Thank you."

Her strawberry eyes scanned over the unfamiliar area. They landed on a navy blue food truck. Perfect. She moved behind it, doing just as she had done to travel here. She would learn more, but all the lights gave her a headache.

 _Return me to where I must be_ , she thought.

And like that, she was back in the glass building she'd awoken in when she first arrived in Heartland.

On the table beside her was a deck of cards. Next to it were a collection of link monsters. Confused, she picked up the first one.

The figure in the picture held her head high, curled staff in hand. Long white skirts flowed around the girl's legs, and her feet each had identical twines of gold and ivory around them. Her opalescent ombré pastel orange and yellow hair framed her beautifully round face. Perfect pink lips opened ever slow slightly, showing in even speech her endless grace.

Irregularity 7: Mariana The Loyal

 **Shark POV**

The rain thundered on his back. Lightning crashed in the background. Any sane person would be under a roof or at least inside, but not him. No, he was going to return to memories he'd thought too painful to experience.

He was returning to his childhood manor. After what Abyss had told him, he had to be sure of himself. His past. Those visions were too close to memories for comfort.

Less and less cars littered the road, and certainly less roofless ones. He continued on still. His clothes had turned three shades darker with moisture, but to him is was no matter. It was just rain, after all.

He climbed off his ride about ten minutes later. The sky finally began to clear. It could've been a nice day day if the gray cumulonimbus clouds didn't exist.

There it stood, tall and foreboding yet still homely as ever. Shark fished the spare key out from inside an overgrown pot of greenery by the door.

His steps echoed through the darkened crimson hallway. A half burned candle lay half melted in its holder. The crystal chandelier hung above him, the hinges now rusted. Same with the old suit of armor. Looking at it, he could still smell the blood. His card still had those scarlet stains on it. And a nasty scar on his shoulder just continued to prove what had happened all those years ago.

 _Rio held his brand new card in her tiny hands, holding it up to a candle. "Whoa!" she said. That's so cool!" She frowned. "Why didn't I get one?"_

 _He shrugged. "Can I have it back now?"_

 _She squinted. "I think… nah! It's mine now!"_

 _He reached for it and she ran out of the way. She dashed behind a billowing curtain, then the peach couch, under the glass table, and behind the grand suit of armor. He followed her, smiling when he saw her there. If he was fast enough, he could corner her._

 _Just as he lunged to where she was, she darted out of the way. His shoulder collided with the solid metal._

 _He closed his eyes, massaging his shoulders for a second. He open them again, his vision gravitating towards Rio. The collision had been bigger than he thought. She didn't move an inch as the formidable enemy's pointed spear fell straight towards her._

 _Young Reginal rushed to her side, forcing her out of the way just before the weapon made its mark._

 _The cold metal sliced down his back. He held in a scream as silent tears traced down his cheeks. He fell to the ground and the cards were knocked from his hands. Blood splattered on the card Rio had been holding. Thank goodness he'd put a card sleeve on it._

 _Their parents heard the commotion and came to their children's side. His mother gasped at the bloodstained fabric as she comforted a traumatized Rio._

 _"Father, I'm sorry! I think I damaged the cards you gave me!" Reginal cried, apologizing for his mistake and hoping his father wouldn't be angry._

 _"I… Let's clean up this cut, shall we?"_

He shook his head. Thinking of the past wouldn't do anything good.

A curtain behind him billowed, stirred by something. Reginal's hand moved to his left pocket instinctively.

"Who's there? Stop hiding, unless you're too cowardly to show me your face."

A water-distorted voice made a gurgling noise he assumed to be a laugh. "I assure you, kid. I'm not. And besides, you shouldn't ever speak like that to your elders." A mint-haired man with a shredded violet cape materialized from a jellyfish-shaped blob of water. "You strike me as familiar." He tapped a deep purple curly-toed boot. "Oh well." Watery tentacles sprouted from his long-nailed fingertips, knocking everything aside save for Reginal.

He narrowed his gray-blue eyes. Small needles on the tips of them had a scarlet residue. He didn't need to be told twice that this guy was dangerous.

Just like in his flashback, Reginal ran about the living room. The only difference was that this time he was the prey and this man was the predator.

It seemed there was only one escape. He smashed a hole in the six-panes window. Never had he been so thankful that he'd lived here. He new the lay of the land better than anyone.

He'd only ever free-fallen once, and just as the last time, he was scared as heck. Not that he'd ever tell anyone that.

Four water-tentacles snatched his arms and legs midair. The fifth wrapped around his neck.

He tensed as he felt a strange fire materialize in his bloodstream.

He grunted when he hit the ground. "What…what did you do?"

The strange man spread out his arms. "It's nothing but a simple jellyfish poison."

He shook sweat from his eyes. "Poison?! The heck do you think you are?"

The man stomped his foot on the overgrown lawn. "No, no! Stop talking to me like that! Refer to me from now on as Senior Kurage, Junior Reginal! Once you do that, I can fully inform you of your sister's condition."

"Argh—what did you do to Rio?!" He was well aware that he wasn't really being very creative with his words, but it took a lot of stamina just to keep standing.

Kurage grinned evilly. "I gave her the same poison I gifted to you. In fact, it should kill the both of you in about fifty minutes from now. What's to say we wagered the antidote on a duel?"

In all honesty, a duel was the last thing he was up for right now. But it was the only way to save Rio and himself.

"Fine…I'll accept your challenge—"

"My, my, Shark! Have you forgotten about your number one fan already?" shouted a familiar voice he thought he'd never hear again from above.

The duelist who'd spoken leapt from the tower he'd been standing on. Spiky blonde and maroon hair unsettled in the fall, and his coat followed its example. The sun caught on his bracelet, the one new thing Reginal noticed about him.

"You're way too weak to duel this guy. Let me handle him." He rose from the ground with his usual grin.

"No…" Reginal struggled. "I have to save Rio…!"

Quattro's self-righteous grin left his face. "I don't care about what you want. Your sister's fighting with all the life she's got in her right now. The thought of her in pain again puts a bad taste in my mouth. I've done some bad stuff in the past, and this is a chance to make up for it. And besides, I don't think you'll do much damage to this dude when you're having trouble staying conscious."

"Let's team up," he heard himself say, even though he hated suggesting it.

Quattro's smile returned to his face. "Great. And one thing: don't call me Quattro. My name's Thomas. The other one brings back bad memories."

"Enough said," Reginal complained. "Let's beat him already."


	40. Chapter 40: A Small Detour

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N I wasn't in the mood to do more of Quattro and Reginal's duel, so I wrote this instead! I hope you like the new duel format I'll be using for now on. Please review. They really make my day. And if you're curious about anything, write it in a review and I will answer. Lastly, cookies to those that got the references that I made with the Shadow Monsters!**

Chapter Forty: A Small Detour

 **Due POV**

"'One-Day Siblings Tournament,'" Due read aloud. "If you don't have the time to win a two-hour tournament, then you're a heartless twin who won't make time for his sister."

Michael nodded through the duel gazer view. "That sounds super fun!" He looked downward. "But what about Yuma? I'm supposed to be helping him."

She selected the link and filled in the necessary information. "He attends a school, right? He'll be busy all day learning how to multiply and such. In any case, this should be interesting. It's a good thing we've got extra deck cards other than numbers, huh?" She thought aloud. Just recently, Due had been endeavoring in Fusions, and she quite enjoyed them. Her current favorite was most definitely Shadow Alchemist. By tributing any two Shadow monsters from her hand or field, she could either deal their attack as damage or deck search two Shadow monster and summon them as long as their levels matched those used as tribute.

It may only be for a short time, but a tournament would be fun. It was only so long until you got bored with dueling the same people again and again. By now she'd memorized every strategy her brothers knew.

When she'd first chosen her deck, she'd wanted it to be like a Blue-eyes deck. Summon big monsters with big attack and kill quickly. But after a while, she took to using more and more burn-based cards. In her opinion, she could do far more damage without the battle phase. It helped that she'd collected a lot of cards so she could have variation. She couldn't wait to test her current favorite combo in new duelists.

She cracked her fingers. "I'll see you there, then?"

Michael nodded. "That's a yes."

"Look! It's Due!"

Due stared dumbfounded at the horde of people that had amassed. She waved her hands to make a circle of personal space. Where was Thomas when she needed him? The people were making her shy, and she didn't really want to socialize with anyone she didn't know that well. How did her twin keep up with this stuff every day?

"Aren't you Quattro's sister? Will he be here?"

"You were so good in the World Duel Carnival! It's a shame everyone voted you to fight the 'Mystery Duelist.' If you hadn't battled her, I'm sure you would have been world champion!"

"How do you do your hair? It's so pretty!"

"Autograph our duel disks, please!"

Michael called her name from the edges of the crowd. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you and that adorable cinnamon roll related?"

Just like that, half of the people around her flocked to her little brother's side. His eyes widened. "Isla, where's a way out?"

It was a good thing she could find her way among a crowd. "Yeah. Just weave around people and find your one."

He did as she said, and soon enough they found a space no other people inhabited. "Maybe we should disguise ourselves."

"But how? We don't have—that's right! The bracelets gave you back your power!" He furrowed his brows. "I thought you could only transform your hair into things?"

She plucked two strands of hair. "No, well, yes, actually. I'd assume that by wrapping it around something that the transformation would cover whatever it disguised originally?" She wrapped the first piece around her arm. "Thank goodness I kept my hair long."

Now in what she called an adequate disguise, the pair exited the corner.

"Alright, duelists! I take it you're all ready. Everyone knows the rules. Duel on camera, tabletop or hologram. The wins will be recorded, so there shouldn't be an issue there. The winners duel other winners, and keep going until the end! So on your marks, get ready… Go!"

...

"Well, well. It seems like we have two finalists ready for action!"

Michael and Due shook hands with the two sisters, one a maybe ten-year-old Blue-eyes user and the other a young teenage Dark Magician fan.

"Old school, huh?" Due asked.

The teen nodded. "Yep. Oh, by the way, we're Spellcaster and Dragon in this. Et toi?"

Due out her hands on her hips. "Duality and Trinity," she answered, pointing to herself and patting Michael's shoulder.

"Tabletop or digital?" Spellcaster asked.

Dragon decided for them. "Our decks are pretty old. Let's do tabletop in honor of them!"

The two girls grabbed their decks and drew five cards each. Due and Michael copied.

Spellcaster grinned. "I'm summoning Magician's Rod!"

 **Magician's Rod—ATK: 1600, DEF: 100**

"When he's summoned, I can deck search a card. I'll set that card, activate Dark Magical Circle," she narrated, "and end my turn."

Due drew. "Let's see… I'll play the continuous spell, Level-Limit Area B. I'll set one card, activate Swords of Revealing Light, and summon Shadow Destroyer."

 **Shadow Destroyer—ATK: 200, DEF: 2000**

"Then, because I have a Shadow monster on my field, I can special summon Shadow Ballerina in defense mode by losing my battle phase."

 **Shadow Ballerina—ATK: 500, DEF: 700**

Good thing that doesn't matter, because Level Limit Area B puts them both in defense mode anyway. Finally, I'll end my turn with the field spell 'Shadowed Fate.' Due to its effect, every time you take damage from a Shadow monster, I may normal summon twice during the turn you take damage or the turn after as long as I compromise my battle phase. Your go, Dragon."

Surprisingly, it was Spellcaster that spoke. "I'm activating my facedown, 'Eternal Soul!' With it I may add a 'Dark Magic Attack' or 'Thousand Knives' to my hand or special summon a Dark Magician from my hand or Graveyard. And I'll do the second."

 **Dark Magician—ATK: 2500, DEF: 2100**

Dragon drew.

Due smiled. Her strategy was beginning to come into play. "Shadow Ballerina's effect activates! Every time you add a card form your deck to your hand, you take 300 damage. And when you take damage from a Shadow monster's effect, Shadow Destroyer and Shadowed Fate amplify it to 800! Finally, I'll activate my facedown, Coffin Seller. Every time you a monster on your field is sent to the Graveyard, you take 300 damage."

 **Dragon LP: 3200**

Dragon pouted. "That's not fair! You didn't even attack me yet!" She looked at her hand, and her innocent smile returned. "I'm setting one monster and spell or trap facedown and ending my turn!"

Due raised an eyebrow.

Michael drew. "I'm glad you convinced me to come to this, Duality."

It took her a second to respond to the unfamiliar name. "Oh. Uh, thanks."

"I summon Ancient Gear Wyvern!"

 **Ancient Gear Wyvern—ATK: 1700, DEF: 1200**

"When he's normal summoned, I get to add one Ancient Gear Card to my hand. Then, with my newly deck-searched Ancient Gear Fusion, I'll fuse my Ancient Gear Wyvern, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, and Ancient Gear Golem to Fusion Summon Ancient Gear Megaton Golem! With him, I'll attack that facedown of yours."

 **Ancient Gear Megaton Golem—ATK: 3300, DEF: 3300**

She flipped over the card with a smug grin. "Maiden With Eyes of Blue's effect activates!"

 **Maiden With Eyes of Blue—ATK: 0, DEF: 0**

"When she's targeted for attack, she changes the attacker to defense position and negates the attack. Plus, I get to special summon a Blue-eyes White Dragon from my deck!

 **Blue-eyes White Dragon: ATK: 3000, DEF: 2500**

He smiled at her. "Nice combo! With such a strong retaliation, I have to end my turn!"

Spellcaster adjusted her glasses. "I'm taking 800 damage due to Duality's cards. I guess I'll have to take 300 more, because I'm using Illusion Magic to tribute Magician's Rod and add two Dark Magicians to my hand."

 **Spellcaster LP: 2900**

"I'll add a Dark Magic Attack to my hand, and destroy all those spells for yours! Then I'll summon Magician's Robe, and attack your monsters."

Due places each in her Graveyard. "My monsters were not immune to to Level Limit, so I don't take any damage. And due to Shadowed Fate's second effect, you take their attack points as damage!"

 **Spellcaster LP: 2200**

"With that I end my turn, and now that it's over I can summon a sec Dark Magician."

Due looked at the Dark Magicians. This was where her monsters's biggest weakness came into play—low attack points. Nevertheless, she had a plan.

"I'll activate the continuous spell, Shadowy Epiphany. When it's on the field, I may Fusion summon a Shadow monster by banishing the materials from my Graveyard. I Fusion summon Shadow War Goddess!"

 **Shadow War Goddess—ATK: 4000, DEF: 2000**

"This card gains attack by the number of spells in my field or in my Graveyard times one thousand, as long as I pay 500 life points each of my standby phases. I attack Dark Magician!

 **Spellcaster LP: 400**

Also, by destroying one trap, she becomes immune to spells and traps during the battle phase. And she becomes the only monster of mine that can attack. Sorry, Coffin Seller. And any other good attackers of mine." She felt bad about destroying a main burner, but oh well."

"Oh my, fans! It seems that Spellcaster may be in trouble!" The announcer robot threw in.

Dragon drew, ignoring him. "I summon Alexandrite Dragon!"

 **Alexandrite Dragon—ATK: 2000, DEF: 100**

"Then, I'll activate my facedown, Kunai with Chain! By its effect, Blue-eyes gets 500 more attack! I'll destroy your Ancient Gear Megaton Golem now. Then, I'll attack you directly!"

 **Trinity LP: 2000**

"During Dragon's turn, I can special summon back my Dark Magician in defense mode!" Spellcaster added.

"I end my turn."

"Trinity, you got any good retaliation?" Due asked him, relatively worried.

He nodded, the curls on the side of his lightly blushing face bouncing as he did so. "Uh huh." He drew, grinning when he did. "I activate Ancient Gear Fortress! Because it was destroyed, I may summon Ancient Gear Beast from my Graveyard."

 **Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon—ATK: 3000, DEF: 3000**

Now that it's face up, I can activate Ancient Gear Catapult! By destroying one face up card on my field, I may summon an Ancient Gear monster from my deck, ignoring its summoning conditions! And the monster I choose is…" He placed the card on the table triumphantly. "Ancient Gear Golem—Ultimate Pound!"

 **Ancient Gear Golem—Ultimate Pound—ATK: 3000, DEF: 3000**

"What a comeback!" the robot exclaimed.

"But that's not all! I'm activating Ancient Gear Workshop, adding Ancient Gear Wyvern to my hand. I'll normal summon him again, and add Ancient Gear Explosive to my hand." He picked the card. "I'll destroy my Wyvern, dealing 850 damage to Spellcaster!"

 **Spellcaster LP: 0**

She sighed, taking her cards off the field. "Good combo you got there. Got me before I could protect myself."

He looked at her with a face of surprise. "You're not mad you lost?"

She shrugged. "I'm fine. I put too much confidence in the idea of Duality's low-attack monsters. And anyway, I'm used to losing. You don't know how many times I've lost even with my Eternal Soul combo. So it's no big deal. You're a good duelist. We only got this far because of good hands, in all honesty."

Dragon pouted. "Hey, we're not done yet!"

Michael nodded. "Nope! I'll attack Alexandrite Dragon with Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon."

 **Dragon LP: 2200**

"Fine! Well, I'll set another monster. End!"

 **Duality LP: 3500**

Due raised her eyebrows. "Okay, then. I'll activate Meteor of Destruction. Shadow War Goddess gains 1000 attack, and you take 1000 damage."

 **Dragon LP: 1200**

"Then, I'll attack your Blue-eyes!"

 **Dragon LP: 0**

She stomped her foot on the ground, but Spellcaster patted her shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright. We can find a new tournament and a new collection of people to beat."

She nodded back. "Okay." She turned back to Michael and Due. "Good duel!"

The elder two shared a knowing look. "Yeah. We had a lot of fun."


	41. Chapter 41: Foolery

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N Shout out to Perith99 for favoriting this fic! Mind that if you have any questions, just review! They really make my day, too!**

Chapter Forty-one: Foolery

 **Mariana POV**

Mari was addicted to the future. She'd decided that much. But how couldn't she be? It was just so different than any place she'd ever gone to. The mystery of it enticed her to no end.

Soon enough, she took to traveling to the future any time she could. She got a part time job there so she could buy the latest technology and figure out how it worked. Not to mention that it paid well, and currency here was worth less than in Heartland. It never ceased to amaze her.

And her link monsters. In this world, she could use them. She was good, too.

Seeing this world made her more determined than ever to save the timeline. If it was destroyed, she wouldn't be able to return here.

Some here had given her strange looks when she arrived. She solved the issue by watching what they did, and soon she fit right in.

But her problem was not here. She had a job to fulfill, one she couldn't stray from. Oh, how she hated it. She could just escape to here. But her loyalty forced her to stay from making that choice.

Once, while walking to where she met Yuma and his friends, she told Reginal about this. He looked at her with half-closed eyes and said, "So what if that place is so much better? Your problem's here, so you better fix it here." He uncrossed his arms and reached lazily for the ladder.

"That's wise. And before I forget, there's something else," she added. "I decided to see the near future in another timeline. It turns out that—"

"I don't want to know what my next move will be. I don't want to be aware of what'll happen and try to get out of it. I'll deal with whatever happens as is, got it?"

He interrupted her rather rudely, but that was his normal manner anyway

This utterly baffled her. Why wouldn't he want to be knowledgeable of the horrors that would take place? One would think that with that knowledge, they could stop such a thing from happening in the first place.

Now, she knew he was busy finding out the inevitable.

Reginal would discover the frightening truth soon.

Discover that he, in fact, was his own enemy.

It hurt her heart to be reminded that her first friend would be thrown into such a destiny. She hated that she had to witness it.

But try as she may, today was the day he'd find our the truth.

 **Shark POV**

Reginal brushed the ivy aside in a self-conscious attempt to make a large rock with his family crest on it visible again. His eyes scanned over the gold zigzags.

 _This crest! It's the same one as the symbol that was everywhere in that kingdom!_

Quattro combed his fingers through his hair. "Something bugging you?"

The violet haired teen shook his head, hiding his discomfort as well as he could. "I'm fine. But Rio's the one I'm worried about."

Quattro lent him his hand, and Reginal took it.

"Thanks."

Quattro held his arm with the bracelet on it in front of his eyes. "I'll see you at the hospital, then?" He paused. "I _did_ help you."

Reginal considered this. He despised that he didn't have any way to invalidate Quattro's argument. Then again, before they had their not-so-nice visit to the mid-dimensional place, Vector and Bronk had shown mild interest in Rio. Anyone was better than those two, he supposed.

"Fine."

Quattro looked a little surprised by the answer.

"You did help me, after all," Reginal parroted flatly while strapping on his helmet.

Quattro smiled. "Great."

With a flourish of his wrist, a bright light materialized. It contorted and spun until he had created some kind of vortex not unlike that of an Xyz Summon.

Reginal remembered this from when he beat the guy in the world duel carnival.

"Take me to Rio," he muttered as his body transformed into violet and blue light.

Reginal, now alone, quizzically examined the strange phenomenon. He wondered if he could use it.

To test, he threw a bit of rubble into the vortex. As a result, the rock came flying back at him and nailed him between the eyes.

 _Well, only Quattro would respond like that. So I guess it must work._

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

At first he felt regret as he watched his fingertips begin to fade. The sickness spread up his entire arm, and more cracks appeared on his feet.

The process was relatively quick—he knew that much—but he felt like time slowed when his body shattered.

Everything blurred and shifted. Blue skies melted into icy countertops. Ivy distorted into a curtain and a heart monitor. The house became a floor and a wall and a ceiling.

The haziness vanished suddenly, and he was in Rio's room somehow.

Sounds came into focus.

"So what you're telling me is that I just ran up to you and died? That doesn't sound much like me."

A girl's—no—Rio's chuckle. "It doesn't do any good to ignore the warnings of an alleged prophetess."

"A half-dead prophetess at that."

She shot Quattro a look. Luckily, her face brightened when she noticed her brother.

"Reginal! I take it you rightfully kicked that jellyfish dude's butt?"

His lips parted, but before he could speak, the blonde and maroon haired Arclight interrupted. "You can count on that."

She scowled. "I haven't forgiven you yet. Besides, I wasn't talking to you."

He shrugged. "So do I care?"

"You know, if I didn't have seventeen cables strapped to my arms, I'd be whacking some sense into you!"

Reginal grimaced. "Hey, Quattro? Mind leaving for a bit?"

Surprisingly, he agreed wordlessly.

Now that he's gone…

"You saw those flashbacks when I dueled Abyss?"

Rio nodded. "Yeah, at least in a sense. I couldn't control what I did like you could. It was almost like some else was controlling my body, all the way to the bitter end." She shivered. "I never want to die again."

He put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll make sure you never do, as long as I live. At least not prematurely."

She smiled, but another worry washed it away. "What if those memories are true? What if…what if we really are Barians, like he said?"

The heart monitor sped up.

"Stop worrying. You'll hurt yourself."

 _Is it true? Could we really be Barians?_

The air rippled and bent behind him. He turned around to face whom he assumed to be Quattro, a sharp reprimand on his tongue.

He was met instead with a familiar distorted voice in his head.

 **Have you considered the fact that her worries may be true?**

Durbe.

Instinctively, Reginal stepped in front of Rio in a protective manner. "What are you here for?"

 **I'm here to show you the truth.**

"What if I don't want to see it?"

Durbe sighed inside Reginal's mind. **Realize how you'll be able to protect your sister far better with Barian powers. She can help herself, too. Barian bodies are far less fragile than that of a human.**

"What do you want me to do?"

 **Just hold my hands. I can use the direct contact to show you your true memories. And in the meantime, grab your sister's as well.**

True memories…oh how he itched to learn what those were.

Tentatively, he curled his fingers around Durbe's cold rocky fingers. When he did, images began to swim in his mind. Images that he'd never seen before but also somehow had.

He was in the strange world that Abyss had fabricated once more.

Panic rushed through his veins. What had Durbe done to him? What if he'd caused Abyss to give home those memories? Or maybe, the entire underwater kingdom was a hallucination he created, just like this one? He supposed giving up a number card would be worth offsetting your opponent for a good amount of time. Enough to regain the lost number and more.

"Durbe? What the hell did you do? Rio!"

He rose from his throne.

Stables. If he could find those, then he travel around this place way faster and find his sister sooner rather than later.

Foreign words blurred into readable text on each door. He raise his eyebrows but continued on.

None of the horses seemed to like him besides one. Chrinorin. One that he somehow recognized the name and look of, even though he'd only ever seen horses in zoos. After all, the species had been severely shrunken after all of the technological advances that had been made. People had just ceased to find interest in them when they could be doing what horses could in the comfort of their own home. So where did this mental connection come from? Could this be another one of Durbe's mind tricks?

Skillfully, he handled the many devices needed to ride a horse (more illusions?).

He shoved his foot into the stirrup and forced his other leg over Chrinorin's back.

"Hyah!" he shouted, gently pressuring her sides with his armored feet.

She obeyed his command.

His eyes caught on a labyrinth, one nearly identical to the maze he'd braved in the underwater kingdom. Save for its age, they were identical.

"Rio!"

A dead end. He weaved a few steps back.

Chrinorin snorted and whinnied, suddenly fearful of something. Reginal pet her brown and white speechless neck in an attempt to calm the frightened mare.

He commanded her to turn around, and he understood why she'd been so unsettled.

"Fine day for war, is it not, Nasch?" chattered the redheaded traitor. Well, less traitor and more liar or spy.

"Vector." The name tasted like acid on his tongue. "What'd you and Durbe do to Rio?" His hand shot to Vector's neck.

Vector laughed. "Since when did you stop caring about Merag? Is this Rio your fiancée?"

"My fiancée—what the hell! She's my sister!"

Icy fingers pried their way under his hand. He moved it away as he felt a strange sap ooze between his fingers. He narrowed his eyes at it. They traveled to where he'd grabbed Vector. A string with a vial attached to it lay shattered on his neck.

"You dirty little bastard!"

Vector bowed, a ghoulish grin across his face. "I am flustered by the compliment." He rose back up. "If you are so set on rescuing your sister from me, then you will have to take her from me. Gather your finest warriors to battle my wife's armies and meet me right here at sunhigh. Then we will discuss the well-being of your 'sister.'"


	42. Chapter 42: Conflict and Confrontation

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N I haven't given up on this fic! It's been hard to write the past few weeks since I didn't want a duel chapter as much as I love the past-version Vector and Shark duel. Maybe that's because I really love Vector's design, but who knows. Anyway, I think everyone knows that I just write when I'm in the mood, so I don't ever have a specific upload schedule. Sorry. Just follow this fic and get notifications that way. Or not. Also apologies for the lack of italics and boldness in the Rio POV. doesn't like me right now. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now.**

Chapter Forty-two: Conflict and Confrontation

Rio POV

Rio brushed dust off her ruffled white skirts.

The Vectorian queen rested her chin in her hands, leaning over ever so slightly. With an extended left hand she pointed at the corrupted god behind her. "So, you actually came. Are you that eager to die?"

I've already seen this memory before. Get me out of here! Let me go home!

Rio narrowed her eyes at the young woman, just as she'd done the last time she had this memory. "No. In fact, the thought scares me intensely. But I know that this is the only way to save my kingdom." A lone tear traced down her face. "I am going to miss living." She repeated the words she remembered speaking to a T.

"Rio, no! Don't do it!"

She turned around to face her brother. "I'm going to save our kingdom, Nasch. I know how this ends. I've experienced this moment once already. I can't change history. Mind that that doesn't mean that we'll repeat it in another life."

He clawed at his cape. "Not again!"

It broke her heart to say such things to him. Abyss' giant hand curled around her body, sticklike in comparison to his massive fingers.

"Sacrifice one, save many. You know it's what I have to do, brother."

Cahira sighed. "You're reluctant, aren't you. That's why Abyss can't cleanse himself yet. Well, so do I care. My husband will defeat you, Nasch, and soon this entire union will be ours for the taking."

"You're done an adequate job ruling this country. You have left so many pretty buildings to tear down and reconstruct to our liking." Vector, whom had just arrived from the main castle, finished his wife's sentence with alarming nonchalance.

She fell into the ice-cold seawater, feeling her breath fly away from her lips bit by bit.

Everything went black. She no longer had any sense of feeling nor any thoughts in her head. All proof of a conscience faded away.

The darkness lasted forever. But forever wasn't truly that long. Not in this strange memory-death, at least.

Rio.

Wake up, Rio.

It's time to come back now.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Reginal was crying. His grasp tightened on the flower a little girl that looked almost exactly like her had given him.

"Is this really the truth? Is this why you're the one that always takes the hit when something bad comes along?"

Her lips parted as her eyes caught on her reddish, transparent body. She really was dead in this world.

"If this is what our past is," she began, "then we'll just deal with it like we always have, right? I know that we'll make the choice that'll lead to a happy ending."

"Make the right choice," he muttered. "If we become Barians, then you won't ever worry about getting hurt again. But we'll have to fight our friends." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Quattro's an egotist, but he did save our lives. Yours twice."

Rio's mind flashed back to the time she'd almost burned to death. Scars still coated everywhere but her face, courtesy of the way Thomas had held her when he rescued her. In fact, it was only thanks to laser surgery and heavy makeup that she looked like a normal human being. And although he hadn't been burned all over like she had, he'd taken quite the hit considering he didn't have to save her at all. She assumed his injuries were just as serious as hers. Not to mention that unlike her, he had stayed completely active when he should have been hospitalized at least two thirds as long as she. What if he was still suffering the consequences of saving her?

"And Yuma's a complete idiot, but I don't want to have to kill a kid that befriended me. Even after all the stuff I did." A tear ran down his cheek. "I don't know if I could live with myself if I could ever hurt either of them again!"

Rio tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but her fingers phased right through him. "It's your choice to make, Reginal. I won't blame you."

 **Shark POV**

"They're all dead. Every last one of them. I failed."

Durbe brushed the strange furry and feathery wings of his noble Pegasus.

"So you've made your decision, then?"

Reginal—no—Nasch stared with watery eyes as the child in his arms died. He could see the life draining out from her body. "Even Iris…!"

Rio appeared beside him. She didn't say anything, but her somber expression was enough to make him feel even worse.

"They haven't completely died, you see," Durbe explained. "They were killed by Barian life magic, so their souls have all become part of the Barian peasantry. Each member of the aristocracy has the kingdom they died in the kingdom they now rule. The deaths of the Barian Emperors, you see, caused this to happen. Their souls created a barrier around the kingdom so none may enter unless they are either from Barian or are accompanied by one from it. There are only seven Emperors, and thus, seven kingdoms."

Rio nodded. "And Kazuma? How did he get in?"

"Mind that all the places that guarded the numbers he only visited with Faker and Byron at his side. And we both know that Vector controlled Faker at that time."

She nodded again.

Reginal swallowed, soaking in this new information. "I think I can make my decision now."

Rio floated closer to him.

"We're going to fulfill our destinies."

 _Yuma, Thomas, Kite. I'm so sorry. But this is what I've been destined to do. And if my destiny will keep my sister safe, then I'm willing to follow it._


	43. Chapter 43: Re-introduction of an Enemy

I don't own Yugioh Zexal or any of the characters in it. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.

 **A/N More rising action! What do you know? Well, here's another shortish chapter. The next one's a duel chapter, so it should be a bit longer. Please review! It really makes my day.**

Chapter Forty-three: Re-Introduction of an Enemy

Quattro POV

Quattro crossed his arms. He let out a small sigh. "Thanks, Reggie. If Michael ever gets hurt, I'll make sure that you get to see him as long as you want." His ruby red eyes gravitated to the sky leisurely. Heartland City was in the middle of another celebration, one with lights and fireworks and all that jazz.

He raised his hand, and glitter fell upon it. His gaze returned to the fireworks. But unlike most fireworks, the sparks that came looked just like cards.

No. They were cards.

Well, he didn't like the red glow. So he needed to find some shelter from it. Likely the Barians had a new trick up their sleeve and touching them would possess him.

He waved his wrist, forming a portal back to the submarine. Surely the card rain couldn't get him there.

Once his eyes fell upon Yuma's friends, he knew something was wrong.

After all, there was normally no way people like them would be allowed in his submarine, not while Isla was on board. And the news feed was on. Both Michael and Isla rarely watched the news unless something really important happed. They just didn't have the time for it.

"People around the world are losing their minds."

Well, they were straight to the point.

"If this keeps up, we'll be dealing with a whole planet of Barian mindslaves," Michael stated, turning his head to face the crowd of young teens.

"In conclusion, it's spreading like the plague," the blue haired boy that Quattro had "spoiled" in the World Duel Carnival said, chewing on his nails.

Heh. Thank goodness he'd forgiven him. Otherwise this would've been very awkward. Maybe he hadn't, and he was only teaming up with his brother and he because of the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" rule.

Whatever. He had far bigger things to worry about.

"It's confusing, but we do know the cause of this is the result of people picking up number cards." Isla explained this with a suspicious tone.

The teenagers had a collective gasp.

Quattro crossed his arms. His hypothesis was right. Those cards were dangerous.

He cleared his throat. "Okay. Let's cut to the chase. Did any of you here find any numbers recently?"

Another collective action, this time them shaking heads.

The very short brunette was especially quick to say no, but before he could give it much thought the ship beeped.

"Hey guys, Chris' skyship's right above us!" Michael announced.

Isla perked up. "And that means that we can get Kite's input, too. He usually knows what to do in these situations, being one of Heartland's ex-number hunters and all."

That and she hadn't seen her boyfriend in a month.

"Do you think they know what happened to Yuma?" the brunette asked nervously.

Quattro shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't been able to contact them lately, so I don't know."

"Yuma," the cat girl muttered. The bluenette held her hand comfortingly. The others did their best not to worry about him.

Isla glanced out the window. She flicked her wrist a couple times. A small lavender sphere materialized above it in response. She prodded at it with her finger. Frowning, she balled her hand into a fist. Again she tested the shield. Satisfied, she returned to the conversation.

"I've been working on my shield manipulation lately. We'll be completely safe from the rain outside. And if not," she continued, grabbing a small tuft of hair, "then you can use these." Each strand became an umbrella which she handed to each passenger. "When it rains, these can be pretty helpful."

 **Kite POV**

No. It's not possible. He's dead. I saw him take that suicide jump! No man could survive that fall!

A rage filled him from head to toe. Rage for how Hart had been tortured, and how his childhood had been stolen. Rage for Dextra and Nistro, who could've lived normal lives. Rage for his own enslavement.

I'll kill that monster! Him and the Barians for reviving him!

Due tightened her grip on his hand. He took a deep breath. It wouldn't do any good to get angry over spilled milk, anyway.

From how the video looked, Heartland had sent his message from the roof.

"Heartland's on the roof. I want you to stay down here," Kite announced, addressing everyone.

Due out her hands on her hips. "There's no way we're just gonna let you fight him alone. That's not how we beat Faker, now was it? And this time we can go all out. Considering we're not half dead yet."

"You're all willing to sacrifice your lives, then."

"What else are we gonna do? Cheer you on?" she asked sarcastically.

"Okay then."

With interlocked hands, the two traveled toward their enemy.

The man that had ruined Kite's life smiled leisurely.

"Karma's gonna be fun for you," Quattro challenged.

Trey nodded. "And we'll be the ones delivering it!"

"So, you decided to show up. And you've got the whole crew. Splendid!" The ex-mayor grinned demonically. "Now we can get to the interesting part!"

Due, Quattro, Chris, Trey, and Kite each raised their arms, activating their duel disks in perfect sync.

"You didn't think you'd be fighting only one of us, did you?" Due questioned with a smirk.

"Oh no. I already knew you were smarter than that. Therefore," he activated his own duel disk, "I'll just have to be twice as cunning!" He spread his arms. "You see, two minutes in and I've already been so!"

"What are you talking about?" Kite demanded.

"Just look at the sky! See its beautiful red hue? That means our plan is already in action!" He tossed his staff from hand to hand. "And if I'm correct, the advanced gravitational pull should come into activation in a few seconds!"

Suddenly, a great weight crushed down upon Kite's body. It almost reminded him of all the times he'd used his Photon Transformation. It just affected everyone rather than just him. Well, everyone save for Heartland.

"You'll notice that the sky seems a little heavier than usual. You'll get used to it eventually, much like I did, but you'll likely have to wait fir the duration of our duel." He drew five cards. "Have fun trying to outsmart me while struggling to deal with an unfamiliar and unchangeable factor!"


	44. Chapter 44: A Trial of Heartland

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough.

A\N: 's been weird where I wouldn't be able to scroll to the bottom to do anything. So I haven't posted anything. Still can't make anything bold. What can you do? But I won't delay this chapter any more than I already have. So here's the next chapter. After forever and a half.

Chapter Forty-four: A Trial of Heartland

Due POV

It was almost impossible to focus on Heartland's words. Each came as a jumble of nonsense, more confusing than the next. What a cheat he was, pulling off a move like that.

Then again… Quattro'd attempted the same kind of thing in the World Duel Carnival. And failed. Maybe there was a loophole in Heartland's plan, too.

She gasped. An anti-gravity field! Of course!

To test her theory, she formed a small sphere in her left hand. Placing her right hand in it, she wriggled around her fingers. Success.

"Hey, guys," Due started. "I think I know how to deal with the weird gravity. During our turns, I can call upon a kind of anti-gravity thing. Kinda like like the sphere field."

Thomas nodded. "Then you go first. We've had enough duels together to get that your strategy works best that way."

She smiled. "Kay." She placed her first card. "Enter Shadow Tutor!"

Shadow Tutor—ATK: 200

"When there are no monsters on any field, I can special summon him. And when he's special summoned, I can add one Shadow card to my hand."

The spiky haired chibi held out his tiny hand. In that hand was a chameleon that shifted into the shape of another human.

"When Shadow Right-Hand Man is added to my hand by the effect of Shadow Tutor, I may special summon him as well!"

Shadow Right-Hand Man—DEF: 0

"Each time that I special summon a monster, Shadow Tutor deals you 100 damage. And because I've damaged you, I can special summon Shadow Swordwielder from my hand! And due to that, Shadow Right-Hand Man deals you 200 damage.""

Shadow Right-Hand Man removed his hand from behind his back, revealing lit dynamite in between his fingers.

Shadow Swordwielder—DEF: 100

Heartland LP: 3700

The ex-mayor narrowed his eyes.

Due took note of this. "Almost done, so don't worry. I'll set one card and activate Ring of Shadows. For every Shadow monster on my field, I can deal you an additional 100 damage!"

Heartland LP: 3400

Thomas high-fived his sister. "Nice!"

Heartland curled his fingers around his staff. "You'll regret challenging me.

Due grinned. "I'm sure I won't."

Cahira POV

Due seemed to have quite the advantage. But she'd expected that. Heartland was a weak soul. A weak resurrected soul. How Faker had pitied him she'd never know.

She smoothed the skirt that Don Thousand had gifted her. It was made of a piece of her own soul, and it protected her, no matter how revealing, better than diamonds. And she liked that. She was proud of her feminine features. Plus, she had a feeling Maxwell liked them too. Not that she cared.

The skirt itself was a violet low-waisted thing, long with a golden border and remarkably high slits. As for her upper body, she had two diamond-shaped gold chestplates to cover each breast. A bit undersized, but who cared. Each were held up by a complicated black woven necklace that draped over her shoulders. Around each arm was a loose angel-wing-esque arm band, with the tips looking as though they were dipped in black ink. Lastly, there was a violet eye in the middle of her forehead and, due to two cuts on either side of it, smokeless fire burned in extravagant swirls.

Then there was Maxwell's clothes. Or for his upper body, a complete lack thereof. Other than the heavy red cape of his. And the golden gauntlets on his wrists. Around his waist was something a lot like her own skirt, just shorter and in red. And he had some extra fabric to make his less revealing than her own outfit.

"Haven't you two dolled yourselves up?"

"Vector. You came early," said Maxwell a little aggressively.

Vector stuck his tongue out. "Whatever did I do to get on your bad side?

His response was a grunt.

Cahira coughed. "Moving on from that, this duel's outcome is already visible. It's boring as heck to watch. What I don't get is how or why you even let Heartland live this long."

The redhead shrugged. "Well, it's not every day you get someone clinging so hard to life that they're willing to become your slave. And, he had connections with Kurage and Semimaru." He swung his legs over. "Kinda like you back in that kingdom."

She scowled. "I wasn't that bad."

Vector laughed for a bit, then pulled her into his embrace, kissing her. "I'm joking, my beautiful wife."

Maxwell continued to grumble to himself.

Ugh. This tension was ridiculously thick. And with the way Vector was acting, there wasn't a chance she'd be able to break it.

She glanced back at the duel with half-closed eyes. Were Vector and she still married? Did the laws of a centuries-old kingdom still come into activation in this time?

Back to her current situation, Vector's arms were remarkably warm. Even though cold didn't get to her, or temperatures of any extreme for that matter, it was nice to feel a kind of emotion-driven heat every now and then.

Although sleep wasn't a necessity, she couldn't help but feel the gentle lull of sleep creeping in.

She closed her eyes, letting the darkness overtake her.

Yuma POV

Astral was okay. Astral was alive. And it was all because of their own friendship.

He let tears run freely down his face. He knew that his Astralian partner had felt his own absence.

"I missed you so much. Don't ever leave me like that again!"

Astral smiled.

"You have no idea how long I looked for you! I went on adventures, but you never left my mind. I even fought off the Barians myself!"

This wiped the smile off his face. "Then I take that they're still at large."

Yuma nodded. "Yeah. But Trey and I patrolled every day to make sure that none of them caused any problems."

"Trey, you said?"

"Uh huh. He and his brothers are all alive and well. Quinton even fended off some creepy mosquito guy when I came to Astralworld! Kite made the coolest portal that was powered on Dad's coins."

"Barians almost got into Astralworld?" Astral looked quite distressed now. "What if they followed you here?"

"I wouldn't worry about the peasantry getting in. They can be squashed easily."

Both human and Astralian turned to face where the voice had come from.

The figure was shirtless, and an intricate pattern of swirls slithered over his chest. What looked like solidified darkness tied his hair back, other than two long pieces on the sides of his face.

Yuma's eyes gravitated towards his face. One eye was yellow, the other a purplish indigo, and each had a black scar-like line trickling down from the outer corners.

But how? He'd seen Due take his soul. How could he be here?

"You probably should have worried about the servants of an experiment gone wrong. Look at what it's done to the rejected half of Astralworld."

Yuma turned to Eliphas. "What does he mean, 'rejected half of Astralworld?'"

"How do you expect to overpower such a strong being when you don't even know how he was created?" Maxwell laughed, ignoring Yuma's question.

Eliphas, who'd been silent the entire time, snarled. "That's enough. I will not tolerate you bringing Chaos to my perfect world."

The descendant of Pegasus grinned. "Shall we solve this feud in a duel, mon ami? Or perhaps you'd prefer hand to hand combat?"

Suddenly, there was a loud cry of pain. The hunting dogs that had chased Yuma across Astralworld had their six-inch long teeth buried in Maxwell's arm. Black flames flickered about where giant bloody gashes would normally be.

"You will not bring Chaos to this world," the Astralian guardian repeated.

Black tears streamed from Maxwell's eyes. His lips twisted to form words, but all that came was a soul-piercing moan. The eye on his chest turned a brighter green. Wordlessly, he ripped the dogs from his body. With both arms free, he wiped a tear from his eye and used it to extinguish the flames. Without the obscurity of the fire, Yuma could see small holes through the injured limbs slowly knitting back to flawless skin.

More beasts materialized, growling the same phrase Eliphas had spoken.

They came upon Maxwell again, ripping and tearing at his flesh. Each attack had an agonized scream to go with them.

Yuma collapsed. He couldn't take this violence. It was too awful.

"Eliphas, stop! Isn't this a form of Chaos?"

Eliphas' stony expression fractured. "I…I am not sure."

That short sentence gave an opening for the losing opponent to retaliate. "Not so sure of yourself anymore? Then take this!"

Another scream. But this one was different.

Yuma glanced upward only to wish he hadn't. A spear protruded through Eliphas' chest. White flames burned around his wound.

But the worst thing was his face. It was so awful, it was hard to explain.

No more, no more. He couldn't take this!

Astral shut his eyes.

A strange pain in his head forced Yuma into unconsciousness.


	45. Chapter 45: Enter the Antagonist

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough.

Chapter Forty-Five: Enter the Antagonist

A/N: I love my characterization chapters, so that's what this one will be. Shoutout to all that followed and favorited this story! Please review! It really makes my day!

Maxwell POV

Eliphas, breathless by the sudden attack stuttered over but one simple question. "But…why?

The silverette shrugged. "I'd say that Don Thousand was the Father I never had…but that'd be a lie. He's not any more of a dad than my real one is. Or was."

Eliphas coughed. Liquefied light poured out the left corner of his mouth.

Twisting his fingers in a particular way, Maxwell created a throne. "You Astral beings are so hard to kill, you know. Impaling you through the chest wouldn't kill you, that's for sure. I just tested that. You'll be thrown off and stunned for a while, sure, but not dead."

The guardian hacked again. "Answer me. If you did not ally with him for parental support, then why? Was it his immense power?

"I'm not an idiot, Eliphas. I'm not going to explain the secrets of your enemy."

He tugged at the tie in his hair a couple times.

Tired of his attitude, Eliphas turned his head to Astral. "I was created, just like you. I know you have the ability to read his mind. You know you have it too. Take advantage of our enemy. Complete your purpose."

Astral stared at the demigod for a few seconds.

"You don't want to be in there," Maxwell stalled, tapping his head. "It'll drive you mad. Courtesy of Don Thousand as well as my own experiences. And that's only if you can get past my mental shield."

Eliphas continued to try to persuade Astral to use his powers, and gradually Maxwell began to block them out with his own conversation.

Cahira, he thought. Once he did, his head burned with pain.

What, Maxwell?

The sound of her mental voice brought back the event from an hour or so ago. He couldn't quite place what made him hate the ex-Vectorian prince so much, but he did know that he didn't want to have to deal with him. And since they were watching the duel, or maybe it had ended, he didn't know, they were together. And Cahira was the kind to take advantage of those around her. No doubt she'd bring him.

Ah, never mind. I just thought your name on accident. Like when you accidentally tap on a contact and your gazer thinks you're calling them."

Okay, then? Well, before I sever the connection, you should know something.

And what might that be?

What could possibly be so important to know that it couldn't wait till they were in person? Maybe it wasn't and she just wanted to play with his mind. Make him feel like someone was slicing apart his head with a katana.

She quickly interrupted his sarcasm. Don Thousand gave Vector the same powers we have! He wanted to tell you himself, but those stupid Astralians blocked his connection.

The chattering was bugging him. Hm. Well, he guessed that explaining things wouldn't do any harm.

"Fine," he began, already regretting that he was going to have to dig back into the memories he far preferred covered up. "I'll tell you what you want to know on a few conditions. One, you close the wall between Astralworld and Barianworld. Or at least the mental interference. Remember this place is so filled with a lack of Chaos that it's killing everyone here. From what I've noticed, you two kinda developed a holier-than-thou mentality from it, too."

Eliphas swiped at the light-blood trailing out of his mouth matter-of-factly. Well, as matter-of-factly as one could be while wiping away blood. Light. Whatever.

Maxwell got up from his generated throne, and when he did, it exploded into black flames that quickly fizzled out.

Isla'd kill to do that, that's for sure, he thought to himself.

He started to walk around the two. "Second, I'd like to know how you figured out how to create life."

"We'll never tell you!"

"Nothing fancy," he continued, acting as though nothing had been said. "Just simple beings, like those dogs." He rubbed at the black spots on his skin. From his battle with Isla, he knew that they'd change to the color of his skin after some time. The smaller took about two minutes to heal, but the larger ones took from an hour to three days. Time was but an irregular property to him now. That still didn't mean that they didn't hurt like hell.

"You'll use your disgusting chaos—" Eliphas practically spat the word—"to make your own variety of Don Thousand!"

Maxwell sighed. Here went the hard part. "See, want me to let you in on a little secret? As payment for that little favor? Maybe you shouldn't get rid of the border, after all. It is a pain to have a permanent mental connection. See, while it's rather advantageous to have all this power," he created and destroyed a suitcase filled with money for emphasis, "I didn't chose to be like this. See, it was more of a join or die situation. Cahira's always trying to explain how we don't have to worry about the downfalls of being human, but it still frightens me when I remember that I'm little more than energy with a conscience. The only reason I haven't staged a coup de tat is due to the fact that Don Thousand always knows what I'm thinking. Cahira's so loyal to him. Sometimes I ponder why. But that is beyond the point."

He swallowed. If they told anyone, he'd be dead.

"I'm using the powers I've been granted to return to how I normally was. I know that I can transfer my consciousness and soul to another body. That's on step in the process that Don Thousand takes to create his servants. So, if I create an exact duplicate of my human body, with all of its flaws, then I could become normal again."

This time Astral spoke up. "Then why did you attempt to assasinate Eliphas?"

"That's the thing. Don Thousand cannot come to this world himself. The immense lack of Chaos would not do well for his health. So he sent me here to see just how powerful you've become. And I did. He's already almost healed. And as for how awful I seemed before, that was what I call my evil side. Not to mention that I didn't want to seem like a good person to anyone without tight lips. I've had this 'side' since I was I child. I can quite easily blame my father for that. If you could even call him a father." His stomach clenched when his mind flashed to his childhood.

Astral glanced at the guardian for guidance.

"How can I tell if you are being honest?"

He was. He simply wasn't mentioning a few things.

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't have killed both of you as well as Yuma if I was in fact lying? He's a human. Weak, and remarkably easy to kill, according to Cahira."

Both Astralians frowned. On the one side, they'd be gaining an ally. But if he was lying, he'd be a spy and a danger to their world.

Eliphas spoke up. "How about a compromise? We create your human body, and you promise that you will never harm our world."

It didn't matter to him. As long as he didn't have to be part of the weird servitude he'd been forced in to, he was happy.

"And, we would like to take a look at your soul. Only with this precaution will we trust you."

Maxwell closed his eyes. Would this mean he'd be soulless for some time? He never wanted to be in that weird, dead state again.

"Do not be frightened. Souls are unable to lie. And they are linked directly to one's consciousness. I have developed a device that understands this. No removing of your soul will be necessary, either."

"Good."

Eliphas rose, and as did Maxwell. Silently but surely, the guardian traced his fingers in an intricate pattern.

The device he spoke of looked like one of those perfect crown-shaped splashes you only ever saw on cereal boxes. Each 'droplet' twined on in a different way, and the best description of it would likely be peaceful beauty. It shined like diamonds in a rock.

"Oh my…"

Their expressions made him feel uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Maxwell… You have two souls."


	46. Chapter 46: Homecoming

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough.

Chapter Forty-Five: Enter the Antagonist

A/N: Shoutout to all that followed and favorited this story! Please review! It really makes my day!

Chapter Forty-six: Homecoming  
 **Rio POV**  
"This locket…" Reginal muttered. "It's nothing but a symbol of the me that's no longer alive." He tore it off his neck. He glanced at it one more time, then tossed it into the sparkling crimson sea.

Rio watched it sink as the acidic water ate away at the metal. The eyes of the child's body she now possessed stared back at her until they, too, burned away.

"I believe we should get to re-introducing our leader," Durbe said, jerking Rio back to reality.

No. Not Rio. She was Merag now.

"Ah, unless you need more time, my friend."

"No, I'm okay."

"Then go we shall."

 **Cahira POV**  
Vector stared at his hands. His fingertips had a strange blueness to them. That was strange, considering the only way he could feel cold was if he was used to being so. His skin shouldn't react like this. It just didn't make sense.

"How strange this is," he mused.

Cahira frowned again. How could she be the only servant not suffering from a strange illness? First Maxwell's headache, and now this? Why didn't she have a stomachache or something? Was she more fit to be a servant than them? Hopefully.

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything?"

Judging by the voice, Mizael had just entered the throne room.

"Nothing far too important," Cahira lied, completely aware of him being unaware.

"Vector is in his human form?"

She bit her lip. He may currently be oblivious to the Vector's servant situation, but he was intelligent, and his general hate of humans certainly didn't help anything.

"I know how much you hate our disguises, but it's rather satisfying to have lips to kiss, isn't it?

This time Vector spoke up.

Of course! His new demigod status let him into her mind if she thought his name. That was already proving to be rather useful.

Mizael scoffed. "Another one of your makeout sessions? I apologize." He laid the sarcasm on thick.

That wasn't what had been happening, and she would prefer it never to, but excuses were excuses.

"Would you be satisfied if we changed back?" She mimicked the yellow Barian's tone. There was just something about him, a kind of air that made him a rather awful companion, and she sensed the other Emperors agreed.

A bright light signaled in the distance, right at the top of the tallest spire of the Naschian sector. Which meant…

"A meeting calling all seven Emperors? That hasn't been used since before we lost Nasch and Merag eleven years ago!"

A short time when it came down to the indefinite life span of a Barian, but still a while nonetheless. Almost a tenth of a human's life span.

Vector looked sick to his stomach. Another side effect of demigodhood?

"We should see what it means. Come along, Vector. Bring your girl if you must."

"Eh?" He cleared his throat. "Right."

 **Vector POV**  
He was right. But how? He'd made sure they were good as dead. He'd impaled the two multiple times and tossed them off a cliff, for Don Thousand's sake.

"Nasch? You're…

 **Mari POV**  
It's time.  
What a bendable word that is. It's not an exact science, and yet it's still impossible to ignore it.

She propped her head on her hands, leaning on her favorite bridge. Right on the second to last ledge of Heartland Tower, she could see everything, from the glistening lakes surrounding the area to the bustling Tokyo-esque city. On a normal day, glass transporters and trains would be filled with a rainbow blob of people, oh Don Thousand, so many people, happily and carelessly traveling to wherever they had to go at that time. The streets, far less abundant in cars then the early 2000's, had their place, but they kept a pastel beauty, again different in a good way. The air, though less crisp than that of her home-time, was certainly far cleaner because of this factor. But her favorite part was most definitely how everything changed at night. Every solar-powered light turned on, illuminating the world. But thanks to new technology, light pollution was nonexistent. And it was absolutely glorious.

Two hours before Earth's complete apocalypse. The calm before the storm.

 **Maxwell POV**  
Two souls. It seemed like two obvious of an answer. Of course that was what his issue was. It solved his points in which he'd lose control of himself, and it made the Don-Thousand-induced headaches become reasonable. He always felt a sharp pain in his head when committing violent actions. And he became a slave to evil actions during such times. After such circumstances, he'd revert to his normal self. Of course, he became a different person. Sane, intelligent, Maxwell would have a mental breakdown even thinking of harming someone. But his violent counterpart had no such block.

He hated the feeling that came from this. He had to get out, out, away from this place.

"Eliphas, he started weakly. "My fellow servant has summoned me to her side. Should I fail to arrive on time, she'd figure out precisely what was wrong."

"And how do I trust you. I see that one soul is pure and righteous and intelligent, but the other is a beastly evil. Who's to say that you won't speak of our endeavors to her?"

"Remember our agreement has not granted me the ability to create life. If anything, you're the only one getting something out of this. Why would I ever tell my forced master's most loyal servant?"

Astral glanced at Yuma's unconscious body with half-closed eyes. They lit up with hope.

"He's proved he has no evil intentions. And as far as he knows, Astralians are impossible to kill. Let him go. Through my experiences with Yuma, I can tell just how precious humanity is. Perhaps, he could take the Yuma and I back to Earth with his world-jumping power. I do not remember being able to do so myself, after all. And, I would be able to make sure he has not betrayed our plan."

The green-haired ruler nodded, "Your arguments do make sense…Fine. If that is what you believe, go you shall. But you say this 'she' is another being like you, perhaps we can revert her as well. Humans are far weaker than demigods, after all."

Maxwell blinked. "Anything you deem necessary, as long as I become human again."

"Then let us return to Earth!"


	47. Chapter 47: Heart's Last Resort

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough.

A/N: Shoutout to all that followed and favorited this story! Please review! It really makes my day!

Chapter Forty-seven: Heart's Last Resort

Due POV

Due laced her fingers through Kite's.

Heartland LP: 700

Galaxy-Eyes Electron Dragon DEF: 6000

"When I have a dragon-type dark attribute monster with no attack points on my field whose fusion materials features Shadow Duchess, said monster's level time's on hundred is dealt as damage!" Kite announced with a grin.

"And that's rather problematic for you," Thomas added.

Heartland narrowed his eyes. "Not yet! I activate Heart's Last Resort! This reduces my life points to one in order to negate all monster, trap and spell effects until the end of my next turn. However, that goes the same for me. So now it's just a battle of brute strength."

Due gasped. "But that means that Electron Dragon goes back to attack mode!"

Galaxy-eyes Electron Dragon ATK: 100

Insect King ATK: 5000

Kite LP: 300

Michael LP: 1000

Thomas LP: 500

Christopher LP: 1800

Due LP: 700

The entire group held a collective gasp.

"None of us have a single card with enough to withstand that!" Michael exclaimed.

"Not yet you don't."

Their gazed moved to the sky. An overlay portal?

The starry vortex swirled away, leaving a barely conscious Yuma in the arms of flickering silhouette. Two black fingers touched his forehead, and he coughed.

"So…much…fighting…"

The shadow dropped the limp Yuma, but his fall was a slow one. The blackness on the body faded away, revealing what looked like the protagonist of a popular shōnen anime. He had tanned cocoa skin, green eyes, and feathery white hair held in short face-framing string-bound ponytails.

The look was obviously a disguise. She'd watched the anime the look had been stolen from.

"From what I can tell…kufufufufu…you need some help."

Yep. They even had the token laugh down.

"I'll be joining this duel. And I'll start by summoning this card.

Dreamsman Sun ATK: 9000

"You're joking..!" Heartland fretted.

"Normally, I can't summon him unless I have a very complicated setup, but you, my dear friend, negated that."

Heartland LP: 0

He looked at Due with a fierce gaze. "I won't let anyone defeat this woman other than me."

And with those words, his essence glittered away.

"What does he—"

An agonized gasp and the smell of fire stopped Kite mid-sentence.

"Please! Give me one last chance!"

Mr. Heartland was on fire. And as much as she hated it, a strange, dark satisfaction came from this.

Due watched as the pleas of a dying man were left unanswered.

Due watched as his body reduced to ashes.

Quattro POV

Explosions hit overhead. Seven different glittery silhouettes streaked through the air.

All of which orderly smashed the tower Heartland had burned at, and neatly landed in a row upon the debris.

His eyes traveled over each figure.

He blinked a few times, not believing his own eyes.

"Rio?"

She refused to answer him.

His gaze trailed over her delicate frame. Her thin, pale shoulders, her neatly cinched waist, her pastel pink lips.

He hated her.

And yet, he loved her at the same time.

Confronted with his own emotions and a friend turning to the one he'd been fighting just a few hours ago, he collapsed.

"REGINAL!"

Nothing but a dismissive frown.

His nonchalance pissed him off. What was he doing?

"WHAT THE HELL?! YOU'RE SIDING WITH THE GUYS THAT TRIED TO KILL YOUR SISTER!"

He didn't glaze over Vector mildly shrugging.

"All because of a lack of knowledge. Reincarnation is a fickle thing," answered the catlike one with glasses.

"Now shall we?" complained the bird-like yellow one. "This loathsome human disguise is getting on my nerves."

"BUT WHY GIVE ME A BETTER ANSWER, YOU LITTLE—"

Michael's hand clapped over his mouth. "Try listening. Sometimes you can learn more than you would by speaking."

This hit hard, reminding him of some less than happy memories. They left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The seven Barian Emperors collectively trailed their hands to the sky. "Go, Barian Battle Morph!"

Their skin rippled and peeled into a vaguely humanoid shape. Rio's lovely face became almost unrecognizable.

No. He didn't care that he was at a lack of information. He'd seen enough.

He ran towards the makeshift podium, ignoring any cries for him to stop.

His fist connected with Shark-not-Shark's purple face.

Shattering pain pulsed through his hand. Looking at it, he could see his fingers twisted in every which way. Ugly purple bruises littered his skin.

The Barian frowned. "So, that's how strong our true forms are."

"I thought we were friends…" He hated how his voice shook.

"The friend you knew is gone. The guy standings front of you is Nasch, king of the seventh Barian empire."


	48. Chapter 48: Farewell For a Twin

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough.

Chapter Forty-eight: Farewell For a Twin

A/N: I apologize for all the slow uploads, but I never enjoyed any of the Barian arcs half as much as the WDC arc. I'm trying to get through this part quickly so I can get to my original plot and fininally finish this fic. I think I have three or four more chapters to write.

 **Yuma POV**

He didn't want to open his eyes. He couldn't. All that blood still coated everything. Why look at the cruel, violent world of that was all it had to offer?

"He's awake," said Tori.

Her existence made him a little happier, but he still quite preferred darkness.

He heard harsh whispers exchanged between Due and Astral, which was strange. She wasn't supposed to be able to see him, right?

"Yuma. I heard that you experienced some violent fantasies."

He curled into a smaller ball, his body screeching against the leather seating of the car. Those couldn't have been fantasies. They felt so real.

Due cleated her throat. "Astralworld has a protective barrier against normal people, which makes them believe they are watching a bloody encounter. Make no mistake, everything you viewed was false."

He bit his lip. He opened his eyes just a sliver, enough to see that there was no blood to be found. Not on him, not on Astral.

"Are my friends okay?" Yuma asked after a while of silence.

This time Trey responded. "As far as we know, yes."

But something was off. "Where's Bronk?" After all of this stress, couldn't help but want to talk to his oldest friend.

There was another silence.

"Quattro and Bronk are currently fighting Shark and Rio."

"They pulled a Rei on us," spat Caswell angrily. "Turns our they were Barians the whole time."

"I'm pissed, let me tell you," added Due. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I don't know, go shove a card up—" she cut herself off, clearing her throat when she earned an equally 'pissed' glance from Quinton, "—go lose a duel."

No wonder she was Quattro's twin sister. She had a more sarcastic attitude than Kari.

"In a less crude form of speech, and a far more helpful one, we are going to tear a portal to Barianworld," explained Quinton slowly.

"Thanks to my magical powers that Cahira girl accidentally gave to me, that is," Due grinned.

Despite this, Yuma fretted. "I'm worried for Bronk. I had to use ZeXal to beat Vector, and I still almost lost. How will he do when he doesn't even have his own number?"

"I don't know, but what I am aware of is that he hasn't lost yet." Due crossed her arms. "We'll just have to wait and see."

 **Quattro POV**  
He'd been shattered, lost, beaten down, and heartbroken. He'd seen horror after horror. Just barely survived verbal and emotional abuse. Caused one soul loss after another.

Here he'd thought that maybe, maybe, he would be able to help someone for once. But that someone, the only someone he could ever call a friend, refused such help. Cast off all he knew because of some lie a near stranger fed him.

And now here he was, breathing his final breaths on the cracked asphalt of a post-apocalyptic utopia.

"You were a worthy opponent, Thomas Arclight. And your life was a worthy sacrifice. Now, I can be free of all connections to my false life."

He wanted to throw himself off the ground and punch the bastard's face. He wanted to yell at him for disregarding every truth. He wanted to scrutinize every mistake his friend had made.

But he couldn't. The gentle lull of the next world tugged at his senses. He didn't want to be forced into there, yet it was too close to reject.

"I really thought I had a best friend," choked Thomas. "Turns out fool's gold is more attractive than it lets on. But…at least I gave my family the best gift I could."

His vision continued to blur, till all he could see was the giant vortex in the sky.

"I'll see you in Barianworld, Reginal Kastle. That's where my body's getting sucked into, isn't it?"

The Barian narrowed his eyes. "That is how Durbe says it works."

Again, blind trust. But he was too tired to chastise bad choices any longer.

He could never be at peace, but at least he would die knowing he served a purpose. It was almost funny, remembering his job back in the World Duel Carnival. He'd basically served it a second time.

Perhaps Vetrix was finally proud of him.

 **Due POV**  
No. Michael had to be wrong. Some kind of malfunction, maybe? Technology could be a fickle thing, especially when tampering with Barian magic. Or maybe, since the bracelets used such magic, their enemies had ruined the signal. Or the bracelet itself had been crushed.

She shook her head. Thomas was far too stubborn to die. "Are you sure? Can we look for him, maybe?"

"Not now," Chris replied. His tone hardened. "The current state of the area is too ruined, and he's in the opposite direction we're going."

"Can't I at least send a vision portal to him? If I could at least see him, then I'd be all right!" she choked.

She didn't exactly glaze over the nervous lip bites running about the passengers.

She cupped her hands nervously. "Show me Doremi Street, Heartland." Her voice quivered.

The familiar crisscrossing road lines and concrete sidewalks came into a small vision cloud above her hands. Her eyes swept over the decimated area.

Bits of shattered concrete coated the ground. The sky flashed and distorted with its strange pinkish lightning. What buildings were still standing were lined with broken windows, and more continued to break, raining at an extremely quick pace. But the most noticeable aspect had to be the abandoned gauntlet-like duel disk.

It was Thomas' signature lightning fire shape. Red based with blue card holders. Fingerless greenish golden armor for an attachment.

Maybe he'd left it?

But Shark—Nasch—she didn't even know—stood right by. And by reading his lips, she could get more than enough of a summary.

"I thank you, Thomas Arclight, for letting me get rid of my final ties to Earth."

The corner between her eyes and nose twitched.

He was far more than a simple tie to an old life. Thomas was a son, a brother, a twin. He was the second half of herself. The part she wasn't always proud of, yet loved with all her heart.

How dare that monster rid her of his oh so valuable existence.

A single tear, ever so slightly metallic, fell from her left eye.

Her anti-gravity field around herself and the others rippled and flickered out, and Kite winced and crumpled into a ball, and the car jerked left, but she was too angry to notice. Even when frightened squeals resonated from the passengers.

"DARN YOU, REGINAL KASTLE! CAN'T EVER PICK A SIDE, HUH?!" she screeched. "MY FAMILY WAS DOING JUST FINE UNTIL YOU CAME AND SCREWED IT ALL UP AGAIN! I HOPE YOU LIKE HELL, CAUSE YOU CAN BE SURE I'LL BE SENDING YOU THERE."

"Due, you need to calm—" Astral began.

"NOW DON'T YOU GO GIVING ME A LESSON ON ETIQUETTE, ALIEN. YOUR EACE IS THE REASON I'M SPENDING THE REST OF MY LIFE AN ORPHAN! AND IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR OWN LITTLE PETTY WAR, MY BROTHER WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!"

More tears came in giant, hideous floods and fell upon her skirt, turning the black even blacker.

Her sorrow continued in giant sobs, and the horridness continued to leak from her body. Her mouth was sticky with saliva, and her nose had filled to the brim with snot. She hated it. She was ugly, so ugly, but showing others, people she barely knew, her own emotions was what really was the tip of the iceberg.

"Chris, stop the car." Kite murmured, his voice barely a pianissimo.

Due looked to her left meekly, now aware of the damage she'd done in her own foolishness.

"That shield really did protect him," Chis commented. "Do you think that the lingering effects of the Photon Transformation are the cause of the changed gravity having such an effect on you?" he asked Kite.

The blonde drew in a shallow breath. "I think so. It's a bit of a shock to recover the experience. The gravity's pressure feels the exact same."

"I see."

"However, you've yet to answer my request." He looked to Due. "Is there any way to implement a shield onto me, or something I could hold?"

She sniffled. "Not now. I can't trust my powers when I'm in an emotional state. I always just end up doing something wrong. And besides that, magic of any sort needs permanent concentration."

"Hm," was his only response.

Due curled into a ball. Everyone was relying on her to open the portal to Barianworld. After Yuma's last journey to Astralworld, any other method could not be risked.

Kite placed a hand on her shoulder, which only made her feel worse. Here he was, reliving a near-death experience and comforting her.

"But how am I going to make any of the portals I'm supposed to without complete mental stability? And how are you going to go to the moon, for goodness sake, without a portal to get there?" She hit the car seat.

Gently, he grabbed both of her shoulders and turned her face towards his. "You need to get a hold of yourself. A true scientist always invents a backup."

Was that why they'd stopped by the abandoned space station?

She threw his hands off her. "No. I won't let you go. Not with all the danger. I won't lose you too."

"Miss Due," Kotori said politely. "I understand you're scared, but if we don't let him go, we won't be able to defeat the bad guys. Yuma's never lost when it really counts. Trust that Mister Kite will have the same luck."

Due twitched again. "Yeah, sure. You're still at that age when you think everything's all right because everything's been all right. I might have had that phase if it hadn't been stolen from me because of some stupid war I don't even want to be a part of. But life happens, and you learn you were a blind idiot. And honestly, not everyone suddenly gets some new transformation that solves all their problems. One mistake, and everyone's dead. Shut up and wake up, before you have to learn that the hard way."

Kotori gaped. As did the rest of the people in the car.

"I'm starting to see where Dad was coming from. He was forced into all this, and look where that got him. I'd like nothing more than to see Nasch begging at my feet for mercy."

To her surprise, Chris and Michael nodded.

"He needs to pay for what he did," Michael decided.

The three left the car abruptly.

"But Trey!" Yuma cried, following them.

Chris glanced at Yuma. "With a couple Barians gone, Kite should have quite a few less road blocks."

He was right! She could get rid of Nasch and help Kite at the same time. How smart.

Due grinned menacingly. "As for the portal, it might not be as hard to make as I thought. I'm filled with a new stability. The stability of sweet, sweet revenge."


	49. Chapter 49: Violet With a Vengeance

I don't own anything besides my OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough. Please review, it really makes my day! Shoutouts for all the new followers, and the old ones too, because why not?

Chapter Forty-nine: Violet with a Vengeance

 **Due POV**  
They were at the place their brother had died. She knew that much. And his murderer would pay.

"So, what do we do?" asked Michael eventually. "Who should we go after first?"

She had thought about this on their trip there, and was already equipped with an adequate answer. "You and Chris should fight Misael. Thanks to his power, it'll take two of you to beat him. I'm coming straight for Nasch."

"I understand," he muttered.

She spread her fingers apart, swirling them in an oh-so familiar movement. One that she had once done with her twin at her side, but no longer.

The portal flickered and condensed.

Chris and Michael held each other's hands tightly, and together they entered the exit.

Now that they're gone, they can't tell me not to do this, now can they.

She tore a knife from her pocket, caressing her fingers about the blade, yet careful not to injure herself. She lifted the weapon to the back of her head and sliced swiftly. Lavender hair fell to the floor.

If she cut off her connection to the past, she would no longer be weighed back. A new lightness enveloped her, now that she was rid of it.

Gazing at her new hairstyle in a shard of glass, she took one of the fallen clumps to form a ribbon, which she used to tie her hair into a ponytail. She grinned at the mess of curls atop her head.

She took another clump and gave her tie-cutting dagger a special addition: a pure Astralite tip. For once, she could put her filthy alien lineage to good use. Just perfect for her, the substance was deadly to Barians, whose bodies could not accept the purity. She would thank Chris later for the observation.

" _NASCH_!" She screeched his cursed name.

She didn't have to wait long. A red bolt of lightning tore up the ground in his wake.

"You wanna join your brother?" he asked smugly.

Unknown to him, she had a snarky response of her own. "As long as you join me. But probably not. You'll just reincarnate in another orphan."

He narrowed his eyes. "What makes you say that?"

"It's amazing what a little eavesdropping can do, isn't it?"

"Always the bratty one, aren't you?"

"How about we see how I've grown since then?"

"A duel it is."

She grinned chaotically. "Ah yes, the fun begins now!"

With that she lifted her weapon and rushed toward him.

"Hah!" He laughed condescendingly. "There's something I didn't see coming!"

She scowled harder and rushed towards him with more force.

He lifted the back of his hand to block her anguished blow.

The surprise on his own face was worth all the insults. The poisoned blade had stuck completely through his palm, and his now bloodied fingers twitched awkwardly. Then all movement was quelled.

"What the hell did you put on that dagger, cow blood?" he demanded incredulously.

A smirk slithered up her lips. "Oh no, nothing vulgar like that. Just enough to paralyze—" she yanked out the blade and wiped away his blood, "—and then kill."

The black stains on her fingers pulled into a straight line and moved back toward his shuddering hand. They merged back into his skin easily.

She stared at his regenerating body in shock. This wasn't a part of her plan. She had to induce the final blow before he retaliated! But she couldn't move now, either.

She had to have a spell to fix this. Right?

Nasch's right thumb bended and flexed a few times, and the rest of his fingers and then his wrist followed in tow.

She had to act! She couldn't stop now! His recovery wouldn't last forever. She had to do something! But why wouldn't her body respond?

Now his entire upper body was working. He leaned toward her menacingly, and for once her body listened and let her scuttle away.

She shut her eyes, hands clinging to her newly cut curls.

He took one step toward her, and she let out a breath, knowing that she had no life-saving tricks left. What was it Yuma had told her about revenge not being a suitable answer? Then again, he was naught but an idealistic child. Something that felt so natural after a decade of harboring hate could never be something that would fail her in the end. And yet it had, and here she was, dying by the same hand that had killed her twin. Fate had decided she was no longer of use after all the trouble she had caused.

But, she had one final pull. One that she was mildly familiar with.

From her left breast pocket she produced a single card.

Its title read Final Prophecy.

Even by just touching it, visuals of Michael in his last moment flooded her head. But the upside was worthy.

Ever since she'd known anyone, she'd never been of help. The only time she'd ever served a purpose was during times the others easily could have dealt with.

Some remorse cane in knowing that she was leaving Kite and her brothers behind. But to them, she'd only ever gotten in the way.

" _You're like fools' gold_ ," Kite had told her the night she kidnapped Hart. He was right about that one from the start.

He'd never wanted to fall in love. At first, he had thought he wouldn't have the time to protect Hart and a girl at the same time. And to top that off, she'd only ever interrupted him when he was working on an important project. She couldn't help him intellectually, he was far above her in that sense. Physically, she couldn't even run a ten minute mile.

Ever since they had known each other, she only ever taken things from him, from information, to time, to love. She had even broken his heart. And in his moments before leaving the car, she'd tried to manipulate him out of it for her own pity party.

No matter how she looked at it, she would let him down  
In an agonizing two seconds that felt like two lifetimes, she plucked one strand of hair, and whispered under hear breath, "destroy."

Through this, she would remove the seal on its power and make its ability hers to control.

The swirling orange-toned magic came at her command and reached for both their hearts.

Nasch's claws rushed toward the wind in a futile attempt to stop it. He coughed once, froze, and collapsed to the floor, his one weak point obliterated.

She cried one last tear of farewell as she let herself become enveloped by the spell.

But before she lost the last glimpses of life, tanned hands wrapped themselves about her chest.

 **Trey POV**  
Too-familiar clouds coated the sky where he'd left Isla.

She wouldn't use that card. She knew what it did.

She knew that it had almost killed him, and not even when she was angry she would never take that risk, right?

Mizael was shouting more cruel comments about their humanity, but his worries drowned them out.

He turned to Chris, frightened. "Do you think she used it? The Final Prophecy?

The elder brother stood stock-still. "Father—I mean—Vetrix" his voice hardened at the second title, "gave her the card after you were defeated by Yuma as he knew that she would be the only one whose rival did not affect his plan. He thought that if Maxwell died along with her, it would be no skin off his nose, and it would weed out another possible traitor. He'd be killing two birds with one stone, rather literally.

"See this is what makes your kind so weak! You think that those around you won't turn tail and run the second things don't turn their way!" Mizael squawked.

Trey narrowed his eyes. No way was he letting anyone slander his sister and father like that, even with both their flaws. "That's a statement we'll prove wrong! Because I know that no matter what happens, my family will be by my side, and I theirs. Right, Chris?"

"To that, I can confirm, Michael."

The two held each other's hand as they both announced in unison, "Now attack, Chaos Chronomaly Atlandis!"

 **Maxwell POV**  
Darned girl. She'd gone and almost killed herself for the second time that day. Add that to a magnificently painful headache, too, because what felt better than getting your plans interrupted?

 _ **What is it you are doing, Maxwell?**_

He tangled his fingers in his hair. Of course Don Thousand could witness this. He saw everything. And there was no way something like him would respect a revenge mission.

"Classified information," he responded in a rather bothered tone.

 _ **Your head contradicts your mouth. Let her kill herself. It would only make everything easier.**_

"See, you don't understand just how grudges work. I'm going to be the only one that gets to kill her, and that death needs to come from an equal match."

 _ **Further time with your powers should remedy you of such human-like ideas.**_

"Sure, but right now, I'm not changing my mind."

He knew well that refusal to compromise was a general sign of a bad business partner, but at this point, he doubted that he'd be working with business strategies for a while.

He rose two fingers to the sky and then to Isla's heart, sending fiery waves of life throwing her body. Her chest rose and fell ever so gently, and he sighed in relief.

He drew a portal, threw her body onto his shoulder, and left that cursed place.


End file.
